Bite the Big Apple
by ReasonandRhyme
Summary: Esme's day started out so well, but after a sidewalk tumble lands her in the arms of a stranger, she quickly learns that anything can happen in New York City. Mature, ExE


**Bite the Big Apple**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight-related. I just wanted to mix things up a little.**

_*grumble*_

I glanced at the gentleman in the elevator with me and shrugged an apology. He gave me a small smile and went back to watching the floor numbers slide down.

_Stupid stomach. _But really, it wasn't surprising. My meeting had been a productive one and had gone longer than expected. I had been so nervous this morning, I hadn't been able to do more than chase half a bagel with three cups of coffee, and now it was almost two in the afternoon.

I stole another glance at my companion. He was probably in his fifties, only a few years older than me. He was impeccably styled and groomed, with deep set blue eyes in a tanned, clean-shaven face. Add in one expensive looking, black pinstriped suit, a pale blue shirt and a silver tie that matched his hair, he was quite attractive.

_Damn men. They only get better looking as they mature. Women just go downhill. It's so not fair._

The elevator car settled to a stop on the ground floor and he politely motioned for me to exit ahead of him. I smiled at him and stepped out. As I crossed the lobby, I caught a glimpse of the two of us reflected in the polished marble wall. My image carried herself well in a cream silk blouse, grey tweed pencil skirt and black pumps. I glanced at his and caught him checking out my ass.

I grinned to myself. My day was made. It's always nice to be noticed like that, but at forty-eight, it didn't seem to happen much anymore. My ass was a good deal wider than it had been in its prime attention-getting years. The pencil skirt must look better than I thought.

At the entrance, I hesitated long enough to ask the doorman for a restaurant recommendation. "Reasonable, close by and fast service" were my only requirements. He smiled and made a couple of suggestions, finally pointing me in the direction of the nearest of them, two blocks away.

I stepped out onto the busy Manhattan sidewalk and turned right as my stomach complained again.

_Okay, we're going; shut the hell up! _ I groused half-heartedly, but I couldn't keep the grin off of my face.

I had just met with my agent, Angela Weber, and a major publishing house. I'd sat in stunned silence through most of the meeting as Angela hammered out a contract for a series of books based on a short story I had written. The characters and plot had all been loosely drawn from real life, so I suppose that made it resonate with readers. I didn't know how, or exactly why; I just knew the story I had submitted to a limited circulation e-zine had been passed around until I found myself with an agent I never knew I needed. Now I had an advance on the first book, guaranteed purchase of the first three of the series and first refusal on any film or television inquiries.

Under other circumstances, I supposed Angela and I would be lunching together, or possibly heading straight to the nearest bar for a celebratory drink. However, she had another meeting which she would have to hurry to make, since mine had run long.

I giggled to myself. _I have a publisher. I'm an _author_. _ I shook my head in wonder and sidestepped around a woman getting into a taxi. I was still mulling over my morning as I slowed into the back of a small crowd waiting for the light to change at the corner. My thoughts shifted from Angela's crisp presentation to focus on a very nice male derriere directly in front of me. I glanced around and corrected myself; there were two, very nice, jean-clad, male derrieres.

I smirked. _ Now who is ass-watching?_

The light changed and we all moved to cross the street. I hung back slightly to give the two young men ahead of me a bit of distance. I was glad I did. They were talking together and walking in step, both asses swaying attractively in synchronization.

Naughty thoughts chased through my mind. _Wonder what they would do if I just gave each of them a pinch? Probably have me arrested for ass-ault…_ I snickered as they stepped onto the opposite corner.

I lingered so much that I was the last of the crowd to cross. Two steps before I reached the curb, movement to my right startled me and I half turned to face the distraction.

Something hit me hard on my right thigh, spinning me around and slamming me towards the ground. I tried to catch myself but stumbled on the curb and I flailed my arms madly in an effort to stay upright. My hand closed on fabric and I pulled, but there was no stopping my fall. Instead, my purse flew to my left and a male voice yelled in surprise as I yanked him with me to the ground.

We both lay there a moment before he scrambled up off of me. My breath had been knocked from me when he landed on my chest and several seconds passed before I could even focus. Someone shouted to my left and I caught a glimpse of jeans and sneakers running off. The man I had pulled to the ground with me stared down the street with shock on his face. He turned back, saw me looking at him, and quickly knelt by my side.

"Are you all right? Did you hit your head?"

I was stunned, in part by the fact that I was laying on a New York sidewalk with pain radiating from my leg and crowds passing by as if this were an everyday occurrence, and in part because I _must_ have hit my head. It didn't hurt at all, but I must have hit it, and hard. How else to explain this angel who was asking me questions?

"I don't know," I said finally. "I… my head doesn't hurt." I started to sit up and my leg revolted.

"Ow, ow, ow, oh shit, god damn mother fucker," I hissed at the pain that shot down my thigh.

His blue eyes slid worriedly from my face to my leg. "Is it broken?" he asked, his hands reaching to help me. I inhaled through my teeth and clutched his arm.

"I don't think so." I wiggled my foot at the ankle and gingerly bent my knee. "Fuck… no, not broken. Just gonna have a hell of a bruise or ten. Aw shit, and a run in my pantyhose!"

He grasped my hand firmly and wrapped his other arm around my back to help me stand. His hand grazed my right shoulder and I gasped, jerking involuntarily at sudden searing pain. He quickly pulled his hand away and stepped aside to take a look at my back. His handsome blonde head came back into my line of vision and his eyes were concerned.

"Your shoulder is bleeding," he stated. "Your shirt got a little chewed up."

_Great. First the pantyhose, now my silk blouse, and I had planned to wear them both to the theater tonight. Shit._

'Thanks," I said tersely and he looked a little taken aback. "Sorry," I shook my head, intending to apologize for being rude, but a shout from behind me caused his head to snap up. I followed his gaze with my own and once again found myself unable to breathe.

A tall figure was jogging towards us, weaving easily through the crowds on the sidewalk. Reddish hair flopped crazily above a gorgeous god-like face, his eyes trained on my rescuing angel. As he came closer, I could see he had something in his hand, something familiar.

My purse. _What the fuck?_

"Hey… here…" he gasped out as he stopped in front of me, my bag in his outstretched hand. I stared at it a moment in confusion before taking it from him slowly.

"What… why did you…" I couldn't figure out how to make my mouth work as I gazed into the greenest eyes I had ever seen. My brain was too busy trying to process the past few minutes and all I could do was stare stupidly at him. He was still breathing heavily. I felt a distinct dampness as I watched his chest expand and contract under his tight black t-shirt, his shoulders rolling back as he attempted to control the adrenaline that was obviously still coursing through him. His tongue dipped out to wet his full lips.

"Stupid asshole." My angel spoke and I tore my eyes from the lanky god before me to look at him. A scowl on his lovely face made me frown.

_Yeah. I just hit the ground, got banged the hell up - mother fuck my leg hurts - and I'm missing something here, maybe several somethings. But please dear God, don't let me wake up!_

I studied my rescuers. Both appeared to be in their mid-twenties, tall and slim. My angel was only slightly shorter than the god, but blonde and blue-eyed, with nicely muscled forearms below his rolled mint green shirt sleeves. There was something vaguely familiar about him.

I looked back at the god. His breathing was calmer but there was still an excitement in those green eyes. He anxiously shoved his hand through the mess of hair on his head as he glanced between the angel and me. His adorably scruffy square jaw twitched. He also seemed familiar.

"Are you okay?" he asked me gently. I nodded dumbly, unable to form a coherent sentence with him looking at me.

"No, she's not," the angel said sharply and I blinked at him in surprise. "Her shirt is torn, her shoulder is bleeding and she can barely stand," he said to the god. They both looked at me expectantly.

"No, really, I'm fine." I finally found my voice. "I'm just sore, that's all."

I glanced down and realized I still had a firm grip on my angel's arm. I let go and stared at him in shock as pain shot through my thigh and I began to topple sideways. The god caught me in his arms before I got too far and he shook his shaggy handsome head at me.

"Fine, my ass," he smirked. His eyes glinted greenly. I wondered yet again if I hadn't hit my head after all.

_Greenly? Is that a word? And yes, for the record, you do have a fine ass… and oh, my god, you smell like heaven…_

"…hospital to check you out," was all it took to bring me back to the conversation. I began to struggle, just a little, in his muscled arms.

"No. No hospitals. Really, I'm fine, I'm just bruised. Look, I can walk… see?" I pushed the god slightly and he lowered his arms but kept them hovering around me. I rested my weight tentatively on my right foot. Another pain twinged through my leg, but it was more bearable than before. I hopped awkwardly in my heels and winced, but managed a few steps before I had to grab for his arms. I saw the look they exchanged and I put my good foot down.

"No. Absolutely not. I just need to sit down a minute. Then I'll get a cab back to my hotel. I do appreciate the rescue or whatever this was… what _was_ this?" I suddenly realized I had no clue as to what had actually happened.

"Was that where you were going, to your hotel?" the god asked, not relinquishing his hold on me or answering my question, his eyes searching my face.

"No, I was going to get something to eat. I had a meeting and missed lunch."

The god nodded at me and then at my angel, who stepped to the curb, flagging down a cab.

"I'm fine. Really. I'll just grab a sandwich and then I'll go back-"

"You need those cuts looked at first," my angel said as he opened the door and slid inside, reaching back out for my bag and my hand. I protested even as I fell in beside him. The god followed me and gave an address to the driver.

I tried to get them to take me to _my_ hotel but neither was having that. Men. They never listen. They were however fairly chatty about what had happened on the corner. I tried to concentrate on what they were saying as the back seat filled with a very male scent that overpowered the slightly sour coconut aroma of the cab. I surreptitiously sniffed the god. _Divine._

"We were talking about music, and I'd just turned back to point out a shop where I found some classic vinyl when I saw that bike courier clip you. Bastard wobbled but never stopped," my angel's blue eyes were stormy.

The god nodded. "Your purse went flying when you went down and some damn fucking kid scooped it up and took off. I went after him and he dropped it when I grabbed the back of his shirt."

I sat there between them with my mouth hanging open. "Wow. Honest to God heroes. Thank you."

My angel smiled with a whisper of dimples. "It was our pleasure. It's not often we get to rescue a real damsel in distress." His grin turned sheepish. "Sorry about landing on you like that."

My jaw dropped further. "Are you kidding? I pulled _you_ down. I'm the one who should apologize. If I'd been paying attention to where I was going instead of watching your -" I suddenly found that, though I managed to shut my mouth, my bright crimson face was still broadcasting loudly.

"What were you watching?" the god asked with a smirk. I glared at him. He raised one superbly masculine eyebrow at me. He knew. Dammit all to fuck.

I crossed my arms and sat back in the seat with a huff, only to sit right back up, yelping in pain when my shoulder hit the cushion. The god laughed at my childishness and it was a sound I would willingly have been dragged down that sidewalk to hear again. He put his hand behind my back, giving me something firm to lean on. The warmth of his large hand felt rather nice splayed out across my spine. I couldn't help but let my mind wander to other places that hand would feel good: _My ass, my thigh, my breast; my God, I'm a dirty old woman._

Something else occurred to me, mortifying me further.

"I'm sorry! I just realized I'm keeping you from wherever it was you were going." Here I had not only interrupted their conversation and physically abused an angel, but they had changed whatever plans they had in order to take care of me.

The god shifted slightly in the set next to me. "Don't worry about it. We were just going to lunch ourselves. You aren't keeping us from anything." I felt marginally better.

The cab pulled up before a very nice hotel and we began extricating ourselves. Of course, my foot _would_ catch on the edge of the car door frame as I got out. I fell into the god's arms once again, my leg screaming loudly in protest. His velvety voice chuckled into my ear as he pulled me upright, tightening his hold on me.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," he murmured with a grin. I blushed again but couldn't quite bring myself to try to escape the grip he had on me.

My angel paid the cabbie and turned towards us. "Ready?" he asked.

"I was born ready."

It slipped out before I could stop it. I immediately felt my blush. What was it about these two that brought out my flirty side? They were both young enough to be my sons, but they didn't seem bothered by my dirty old lady talk. Instead, they laughed and half dragged, half carried me through the door.

The god made sure my angel had a good hold on me before leaving us by the elevators. He made his way to the concierge and spoke with her for a moment.

"Am I bleeding much?" I whispered. My angel glanced back at my shoulder and then met my eyes.

"A little bit. It's slowed down a lot; you'll be fine," he reassured me. The god rejoined us just as the silvered doors slid open and the three of us shuffled inside.

"Good. I don't like leaking all over. It's so gauche." I could see our reflection in the polished door and the look the two of them exchanged over my head confused me. I couldn't tell if they thought they had a loony on their hands or if they were simply amused.

The doors opened and they led me down a short hall. The god slid the key through the lock and shouldered the door open as my angel drew me inside.

Suddenly I started to panic. In all my years of being an independent female, I had never been this easily led. _Hotel room. Strange man… _men_. Danger, Mrs. Robinson. Get out now!_

Then I glanced around and told my Good Sense to shut the fuck up. For starters, this was no hotel room; this was a suite and a very nice one at that. Linen drapes on the floor-to-ceiling windows were drawn back to display the Manhattan skyline. Comfy-looking overstuffed sofas and chairs were attractively arranged amongst a herd of small tables and large plants. I wanted to move in.

My angel guided me to an armchair, but I shook my head.

"Nothing doing. I'll bleed on it and you'll have to pay an outrageous cleaning bill. Over there." I pointed to a small dining table and chairs set off to the side. I may have groaned a little as I folded myself onto the hard wooden seat.

Almost immediately there was a knock on the door. The god opened it, speaking quickly with whoever it was before closing the door again. He brought a bag to the table and began unpacking it, laying out bandages, gauze, tape, antibacterial cream and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

I shot him a look. "Gee, I guess I 'fell in' with the right guys. Who knew you were a doctor?"

He grinned and shook his beautiful mane as he pulled a pack of sterile gloves from the bag. "Nope, not a doctor. But I've played one on TV."

My angel snickered. I was confused.

"But you've done this before. I mean, all this…" I gestured to the MASH unit now spread across the table.

"Oh, I've had to patch up my share of inebriated friends. Speaking of which…" He looked up at my angel. "Get out some whiskey, will ya, Jazz? I think she's going to need it." He winked at me and headed out of the room. I heard water splashing a few moments later as he washed his hands.

Jazz. I pondered the name. It seemed to fit, as far as angel names go. I watched as he opened an armoire that housed an iPod docking station and a small army of bottles. He stood over them a moment before selecting a bottle of Jameson and three glasses. He turned on the iPod, sending some Miles Davis floating through the room.

His godliness came back in and began to put on a pair of the gloves. My angel of Jazz poured whiskey in each of the glasses and handed one to me before he left to wash his own hands. I put it down without touching it as I was mesmerized by the god working the gloves onto his large hands, stretching and smoothing the silicone over his fingers. My fertile brain couldn't help but go to other places that could be similarly encased and how much I would enjoy helping him with that. _Stop. It._

"May I help you take off your blouse?"

My fingers went flying to unbutton at the velvety request, but my Good Sense had to butt in again. I kicked her in the shin but she had a point.

"Fun as it's going to be doing shots and getting half naked with you, I think we missed an important step here. Who the hell are you?"

Apparently, I was a comedienne. The god threw his tousled head back and laughed. I liked him even more; his green eyes got crinkly at the corners and all but disappeared when he did.

My Jazzy angel came out, drying his hands on a towel. "What's so funny?" he asked, grinning in anticipation of the joke.

"She… she wants to know… who the hell we are!" The god was gasping and giggling. It was too fucking adorable.

Jazz-angel's baby blues got bigger and his jaw dropped as he stared at me. "Seriously? You really don't know who we are? I thought you were just joking with the doctor comment…" Astonishment vied with delight on his face.

I shook my head. "Sorry. Obviously I should, from your reaction… you both do seem familiar but I'm quite certain I'd remember if we met before. You two kind of… stand out."

If the guffawing and snorting went on much longer, I was going to book myself in the Catskills for the summer, because, dammit, my stand-up game was fierce. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure what I was saying that was so hysterical.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Jazz-angel reached for my hand and bowed his blonde locks over it, brushing the back with his lips.

_Oh. My. God. Moisture alert. I think an ovary just twitched._

"I'm Jasper Whitlock, ma'am, at your service," he twinkled at me. Seriously. He twinkled. The dimples were deep. Unicorns and rainbows lived in them kind of deep. And he said "ma'am". The other ovary twitched.

My eyebrows rose as his name swirled through my brain, igniting synapses and generally smacking my memory around.

"And I'm Edward Cullen." The god leaned back in his chair and smirked as he watched the Dawn of Recognition make its rosy way across my stunned face.

_I'm a first class fucking idiot. They are only Hollywood's best and brightest A-list actors. Jasper did that… action thing, with what's-her-face, and the canoe... and the funny one with all the pandas. Edward… Oh, God. Edward. Fucking. Cullen. Movie Star, hello! He _did_ play a doctor on TV, only the fuckhawtest doctor in primetime. _

It was true. 'Tyler Crowley, OBGYN' was so insanely popular that the rate of cervical cancer had dropped due to women rushing to get PAP smears. The birth rate was up too, funnily enough. There were even waiting lines for mammograms.

"Fuck me with a Popsicle stick – you are. Holy shit." _Terrific. Open mouth, release the verbal diarrhea. _

I rubbed at my eyes, carefully avoiding my mascara. "I'm sorry, guys. I noticed the gorgeousness right off of course, but it just didn't connect. The context was wrong. Please, don't be insulted."

"No way," Jasper-Jazz laughed. "If I'd known you didn't recognize us, I'd have enjoyed it more."

Edward Drool-Inducing Cullen nodded, humming in agreement. "Now, about that blouse…" he reminded me. "We need to clean you up."

"Okay." I began to unbutton again, but another thought stopped me. "Um, how about I just go in the bathroom…"

Jazz-man frowned. "No. You can't reach this by yourself; you need one of us to clean and bandage it. Besides, there's no need to be embarrassed. We're around naked and semi-naked actresses all the time. It's nothing we haven't seen before." His frown morphed into a dimply smile. _Sigh._

"Maybe not, but the ones you're used to seeing are of a more recent vintage than mine, I bet." The fuckers both had the nerve to roll their eyes.

"Fine. You asked for it." I unbuttoned my blouse as I mentally gave thanks that I wore a sexy ivory lace Power-bra today.

I undid my cuffs and started to shrug my blouse off but stopped when searing pain hit my shoulder.

"Ow!" I gasped and Jazz put his hands out to stop me.

"Don't move." He grabbed the hand towel he had draped over a chair and dashed to the bathroom. A few moments later he returned, the towel now damp with warm water.

"Here…" he said as he gently placed it on my back and shoulder. I could feel the moisture seeping through my shirt. I leaned forward over the table, resting on my arms, my face inches from the top.

"The blood was drying and sticking to your blouse. Sorry," he murmured as he carefully pressed the towel down on my back.

"It's okay. Thanks," I murmured back. One of the whiskey glasses slid in front of my eyes. I looked up at Edward without raising my head.

"Drink that. It'll make the rest of this easier all around, I promise," he smiled crookedly.

_Cue panty-dropping._ _Does he have that patented? 'Cause, damn, that's just hot…_

Jasper removed the towel and I felt the cool air hit my now-wet back, making me shiver.

"Thanks,' I said and took a small sip, grateful for the warmth it brought. Edward shook his head. I watched a lock of hair flop over his brow and my fingers itched to brush it back.

"Down it," he ordered.

"But it's Jameson! You don't shoot Jameson!" I protested even as my lady-bits shouted _Yes, Master! Down where and how far?_

"You do if you don't want this fucker to hurt as badly as it will if you don't," he urged. "Do it."

"Shit," I said and slammed back a good three fingers of fine Irish whiskey. The genteel fire scorched its way down to my stomach and hit rock bottom. I choked, coughed and groaned.

"What?" Jasper asked in concern.

"Nothing – I just haven't eaten. God, I'm going to be drunk in about a minute."

Jasper shrugged, grinning. "I don't have a problem with that, do you, Edward?" His Gorgeousness shook his head as Jasper refilled my glass and handed it to me. I gave them a hard look. Edward raised one perfect eyebrow and folded his incredible arms. I stuck my tongue out at him and downed the drink as he laughed.

Jazz snickered at me. "Blouse, please."

"You just want to see my old lady tits," I whined. "Perverts."

Again with the eye-rolling, but they were both smiling this time.

Jazz carefully helped me peel off what was left of my blouse and they both made silly pouty faces when I crossed my arms over my breasts and hunched over.

Smooth, silicone-covered fingers ran along the edge of my bra to the clasp and I felt my skin flush. I shivered.

"I need to undo this; it's in the way," Edward's tone was soft and comforting even if the words weren't. I nodded and clutched my arms tighter around my torso. I felt the clasp release and his hands as they slid along my back. His fingers hooked under my right bra strap and carefully pulled it away from my shoulder. His touch was gentle but it still hurt.

"There's blood on your bra," he commented.

Jasper looked up. "I can rinse that out for you." I glared at him from the table top. He sat back and laughed. "Or not."

"Creeper," I said between my teeth. Edward chuckled behind me.

"Patch me up, Doc," I said with false bravado. "And make it snappy."

"In a hurry, are we?" I could hear the smirk in Edward's voice as he carefully and gently swabbed peroxide on my cuts and scrapes. I hissed through my teeth at the sting and he murmured an apology.

"Yep," I answered. "I've got cattle to rustle and a bank to rob this afternoon," I snickered.

"Well, Ma Barker, in my personal, completely non-professional and unlicensed medical opinion, you probably should take it easy for a day or two. That bank isn't going anywhere, and neither should you."

"Look, Sonny, I have things to do, starting with seeing a Broadway show tonight. And it's Esme."

Jazz glanced up over my head at Edward before dropping his gaze to me. "Esme? I don't know any shows called 'Esme'."

I giggled. Oh, God that Jameson was hitting hard already and there seemed to be another glass of it in front of me.

"No, silly. _I'm_ Esme. Esme Porter. If you're going to get me plastered, I ought to introduce myself. It's only polite." Careful to keep myself covered, I took a healthy pull from the glass and shuddered as it slid down.

"Nice to meet you, Esme Porter. Come here often?" Edward chuckled lightly as he began to smooth antibiotic cream over my shoulder. His hands were warm through the silicone gloves, his fingers gentle as they passed over my cuts. If I hadn't been in pain, it would have felt wonderful.

"Oh, all the time. Can't you tell I'm a regular? How else do you think I meet attractive men and get them to take my clothes off?" I surreptitiously slid my heels off under the table. It felt great to stretch my toes.

Jasper tilted his head and contemplated me from beneath his lashes. "I wouldn't think you would have a problem with that. If men _aren't_ trying to meet you and get your clothes off, you've been meeting the wrong men." He smiled then, his dimples playing havoc with my ovaries again. I smiled back, or maybe it was a leer; I couldn't tell any more.

I looked down at my empty glass. No, it was full. Wait. Who was filling it up again? I glanced up to see Jasper re-capping the Jameson. The bottle had originally been full and now there was an awful lot of air in there. _I didn't drink all of that, did I?_

That's when I noticed the other glasses on the table.

"Oh, good," I said as Jasper picked one of them up. "I hate drinking alone. Come, get trashed with me." He clinked his glass against mine and took a sip.

"Ah, that's good." he said as he licked his lips and leaned back in his chair. "Now, why wouldn't you let us take you to a hospital?"

"For starters, _they_ would have expected me to get naked without having the courtesy to ply me with alcohol first. Besides, I've spent enough time in hospitals. They aren't pleasant places." I sipped my whiskey and savored the heat sliding down my throat.

"Are you doing all right? Is there anything you need?" Edward asked as I sighed.

"Mmm," I mumbled. "About ten more hours of whatever it is you're doing back there. God, that feels wonderful." I heard Edward chuckle.

"I'm just putting a bandage on you. It can't feel that good."

I snorted. "Obviously, you've never felt your hands on you. Wait. That didn't come out right."

They were both laughing at me now but I didn't care. It _had_ been pretty funny.

" 'Kay, guys. I need food. I don't care what it is, just feed me something before I pass out." My head was starting to feel light and my eyes were getting swimmy.

I felt Edward's hand smooth down the tape holding my bandage in place. His voice floated above my head as I laid my cheek on the cool table top.

"I ordered room service when they brought the supplies, so it should be here soon. I hope a burger is all right. You aren't vegetarian, are you?" There was an awkward note of concern in his voice. It was sweet.

"Nope. I love meat," I snickered.

That made Edward snort. He came around to stand next to me as he peeled off the gloves. "Good. The protein will help you heal more quickly," he said as he scooped all the supplies back into the bag again.

From my comfy position hunched over the table, my eyes followed him as he crossed towards the bathroom with the bag in his hands. God, he was beautiful. And that ass.

_I'm staring. I'm staring at him, and I'm enjoying it, because he is just _fine. _Yum._

There was a polite tap on the door and Jasper rose to open it. He hesitated a moment before going into the bedroom instead, returning with a blue dress shirt that he draped across my shoulders. I sat up cautiously and slid my arms into the sleeves, buttoning it as he reached the door behind me. I could feel my bra loosely hanging on by one strap and I attempted to wrap it around myself under the shirt.

_Aw, how sweet. Gentlemen don't leave ladies uncovered when they let room service in. _I had to roll the sleeves up to free my hands and I rubbed at my nose, checking for feeling.

It may have gone numb, but it was still working. I turned it into the shirt collar.

I probably should have been grossed out that Jasper brought me a shirt that had been worn recently, but I didn't care – it smelled amazing. Spicy. Male. Edward. I could feel moisture pooling between my legs. _God bless pheromones. Hormones. Hoor-moans. Oh, yes._

The room service cart was loaded with burgers, fries, onion rings and three enormous chocolate milkshakes. Edward came out of the bathroom and grinned at Jazz over the mountain of food. His gaze fell on me and he froze, the grin sliding a bit as his jaw dropped a little. I blushed again, mortified that he was bothered by me wearing his shirt.

"Um, Jazzper brought it to me when room service came. So I wouldn't be uncovered. Sorry." I started to unbutton it, but Edward's hand on my good shoulder stopped me.

"No. It's… fine. I'm glad he did." He smiled that crooked smile down at me and I felt drunk all over again.

His green gaze was amused. "Come eat," he said, taking my arm. I blinked quickly and gently pulled from his grasp.

I pointed towards the bathroom. "I… uh, I, I'm going to go, uh, in there, for a minute first," I stuttered, blushing at my sudden inability to form a sentence.

"That's fine. Yell if you need anything," he smiled and stood watching as I grabbed my purse and lurched for the door. I looked up to see his eyes still on me as I closed the door and locked it.

_Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck. FUCK. _ I leaned my ass against the counter a moment and put my face in my hands.

_Woman, what the hell do you think you're doing? Getting drunk… no, letting _them_ get you drunk and out of your clothes, even if it is for a good reason, is a _bad_ idea. You've been out of circulation too long, and this won't end well. _

I turned around to stare at my face in the mirror. I hated having to agree with my Good Sense, but sometimes the bitch was right. _You are going to straighten your shit up, go out there and eat something, and then get the hell out of Dodge. No hanging around. These guys are _so_ far out of your league and _way_ too young for you. Sticking around will only lead to more flirting and when you carry things too far, as you tend to do, the rejection is gonna hurt ten times more than your leg does right now. _

I squared my shoulders as I examined my reflection. My makeup was still in fair order. My hair needed attention, so I removed the large black barrette holding it up in a twist. I combed my fingers through it as it fell past my shoulders. It still smelled of the peach conditioner I used this morning. I pulled it back and up into a twist again, smoothing it before I clipped the barrette in place. As I did, the bandage tape pulled on my skin and the scrapes ached.

I unbuttoned Edward's shirt and let it slide down my arms, turning so I could see my back in the mirror. There was a large bandage of gauze and tape covering my right shoulder blade. It was neat and smooth; he did a good job. I shifted my left arm out of the shirt to completely remove the bra that was barely hanging on me. I put it in my purse, rebuttoned the shirt and hiked up my skirt to check my outer thigh. The bruises I expected to see were just getting started, the purple shadows promising to be large and very dark.

My pantyhose had several runs in the right leg where the nylon had been stressed when I fell. The torn hose not only looked awful, they felt horribly uncomfortable and grimy. Removing them seemed like a good idea, on the surface. The trouble was, I had been concerned about panty lines under the pencil skirt, and to avoid them, I had simply skipped the panties. Now I was not only going to be bra-less, but commando. Grumbling, I slid the pantyhose down my legs, grateful that I had taken the time to shave them this morning. At least the scratches they received from the concrete were small and superficial.

I tossed the nylons into the trash. For just a moment, the pantyhose seemed to be perched on a tangle of used condoms. Disturbing as that idea was, I was too intrigued not to look closer. On doing so, I discovered they had landed on top of the disposable gloves Edward had worn. Oddly, I felt relieved.

_Why would finding used condoms in his trash bother me? It's his trash, his suite - I only just met the man, and Lord knows, it would be a shame if _someone_ wasn't putting all that sexy to good use - but _that_ is just the line of thinking that will cause me problems. It's already gone too far. _

Worrying about who or what he was doing was none of my business.

I dug my phone out of my purse and called Angela. It rang once and went to voicemail – she was still in her meeting. I explained that I had unexpectedly run into some friends, and that I didn't think I was going to make it to the theater tonight. After promising to call her tomorrow, I hung up. Since my clothes were torn up, I would have to do a little shopping tomorrow, but this gave me an out for tonight and I could just relax at my hotel instead.

I used the facilities since I was already in there. Somebody wise once said, "Never pass up an opportunity to go to the bathroom because you never know when you will get a chance again." I happen to agree.

I stepped out to find the boys fidgeting on one of the sofas. The moment they saw me, they both leapt to their feet, Edward coming towards me with a sweet grin as Jasper rushed to the table to pour us each a fresh whiskey.

"Madam, your dinner," Edward bowed low, sweeping one hand grandly towards the dining table. The food had been moved from the cart to the table, the places were set and one of them had even put a couple of lit candles in the middle as a centerpiece. I was enchanted and touched that they had done these little things to make our simple meal more special. For a moment I just glanced between the two of them, before I found the words.

"Thank you. It was lovely of you to do this. But if either of you breaks into 'Be Our Guest', I promise, it won't be pretty." They both laughed and Edward escorted me to my chair.

A very short while later there was nothing left of our repast but a few crumbs and some limp parsley. It may have been the chef, or the company, or how buzzed I was, or perhaps all three, but that was the best damn cheeseburger I ever ate. Nearly comatose, we were all sprawled across various cushy bits of furniture. I lay on a sofa on my stomach and watched Jazz as he sucked the last remnants of milkshake from the bottom of his glass. Edward chuckled at him and then turned to me.

"Feeling better?" he asked as he sipped at his whiskey.

"Mmm. Better is relative. I've been partly skinned, soaked in alcohol and stuffed. I belong at a taxidermist's. I don't think I could move if you paid me."

"Then don't," Edward smiled. "So why didn't you get to have lunch before? You said you had a meeting; what do you do?"

"I write. I'm a writer. I had a short story published and the meeting today was with a publishing firm. They want me to do a book series." The giddy joy of that fact had nearly been knocked from me on the street corner and it now hit me full on in my whiskey-sodden state. My eyes widened and an imbecilic grin lit my face. "I'm an _author_! A real, honest-to-God, somebody's-paying-me-to-do-this, author."

"Congratulations!" Jasper's eyes sparkled at me.

"Hell, yes, congratulations! Jasper, this is a celebration. We need more whiskey!" Edward said.

Jasper pushed his way out of the armchair and headed for the armoire. He brought back a second bottle of Jameson, snagging the nearly empty bottle from the table as he passed. Once all our drinks had been refilled, Edward and Jasper each made a toast to my good fortune and continued success. I blushed and loved every minute of it, so much that I felt compelled to make a toast of my own.

"To my truest heroes, who picked me up and put me back together, and who are the sweetest and most decent real people who ever came out of Hollywood. I salute you and hope that all your wildest dreams come true." Nodding solemnly, we all drank.

"_All_ my wildest dreams, Esme? Do you really mean that? Because I have some pretty wild ones…" Edward smirked into his whiskey. I booed him as Jasper hit him with a throw pillow.

"No one wants to hear all your sick and twisted thoughts, Edward," Jasper teased as he ducked the pillow when it came flying back. He walked over to pick it up from where it landed and placed it on a chair. "Besides, you have so many; we'd be here all day." He made a show of checking his watch and did a double take. "Whoops. It's later than I thought. Time flies and all that."

Edward and I watched lazily as Jasper collected the dishes from the table, piling them on the cart. "Look, Mom, I'm doing the dishes!" he joked, making a face at Edward. He tossed the napkins atop the pile before stretching his long arms away from his body and above his head, revealing a narrow view of some marvelously defined abs as his shirt rode up.

_Lord, help me… oh, hell, never mind. I'm joining the Dark Side._

I glanced at Edward. He was watching me with an evil shit-eating smirk on his face. I felt the heat fill my cheeks right as I innocently asked, "What?"

His lean body was draped across a sofa. He snorted and threw his head back onto the cushion, lolling it to the side, and looking at me from under mile-long lashes and a lock of wayward hair. "Don't even try to deny you were staring. That blush totally gave you away!"

"I wasn't staring, merely noticing." I closed my eyes in mock distain and turned my face from him as he laughed. Jasper snorted and I opened them again.

He was standing with his hands on his hips, shaking his head at us. "Okay, you two. It's been real, but I have to get going." He turned those baby blues on me and came over to the sofa I was occupying. He crouched down next to me and took my hand. "It's been a pleasure, Esme. I do hope you feel better soon."

"Thank you, Jasper, for everything, including trying to get me drunk." I smiled.

"No problem," he chuckled. "Next time I'll succeed, I promise."

I laughed and he bent that lovely blonde head to kiss my knuckles again as he squeezed my fingers. He started to release my hand and stand up, but I held on, swinging my legs from the sofa and pulling myself upright. Jasper caught my other hand and helped me to my feet.

"Thanks… again," I smiled as the room wobbled slightly. He held my hand until I steadied myself.

"You got it?" he asked, concerned.

"What are you doing?" Edward spoke from his sofa, a frown on his glorious face.

"I'm good," I answered Jazz, letting go of his hands and patting his arm. I looked at Edward. "I should be getting back to my hotel. I've taken up enough of your afternoon. You patched me up and fed me, and I do appreciate it, but I need to go."

"I'll ride down with you," Jasper offered with a smile.

"No!"

Jasper and I both turned in surprise as Edward shoved himself off of the sofa. He gave a shaky look to Jasper before settling his wide green eyes on me. "I… I don't think you should go… yet. You need some Tylenol or something, for the pain. And I need to check the bandage. I don't want it to come loose."

Jasper nodded. "That's fine; I can wait -"

Edward interrupted, "No, Jazz, you have a rehearsal to get to. You go on and I'll make sure Esme gets back to her hotel."

"Is that all right with you?" Jasper asked me. I gazed up into those beautiful blue eyes at his innocent question. He didn't seem worried at the idea of leaving me alone with Edward. I took that to mean that he thought I would be safe enough. Silly boy, he should be worried for Edward.

"It's fine," I said. "Thanks." A bright smile spread across his angelic face and I was again devastated by his dimples. He turned to Edward and lightly punched his arm.

"See you, man. You coming by tonight?" he asked.

Edward looked at the floor before glancing at me. "Maybe; I don't know. I've got a patient to check out first." He wiggled an eyebrow at me and I recognized one of his signature lines from his TV show. It was usually followed by a steamy scene with said 'patient'. That thought sent tingles through me and I felt a pronounced wetness between my legs. And here I was with no panties.

_Oh, dear._

Jasper playfully shook his finger at Edward. "You behave. She's wounded and barely walking," he teased and glanced back at me. "He gives you any trouble, smack him. Not too hard, though; I think he likes it that w-"

The words were knocked from him as Edward tackled him. The wrestling was good-natured and I was treated to several glimpses of toned tummies and sculpted backs as they grappled together.

_Thank you, God! Um, I mean, Lord Vadermort… _

"Uncle," Jasper gasped after Edward caught him in a headlock and pulled one arm up behind his back. They both stood, laughing, chests heaving. I'm sure I had a silly grin on my face; that shit was priceless.

Jasper looked over at me and winked. "See, I told you he likes it rough!" Edward lunged for him again, but he danced out of reach. "I'm going!" he laughed as he darted for the door.

"Bye!" I called as Edward chased after him.

"Kiss my ass-per!" Edward hollered down the hallway. I could hear Jasper's laughter floating back.

Edward was grinning as he turned to the room service cart by the door. Careful not to disturb the pile of crockery, he wheeled it into the hall. He shut the door, bracing one hand on it as he leaned against it. His tourmaline gaze met mine across the room and the grin turned into a lazy smile.

"That boy is something else," he said, shaking his head.

"It's good you two are so close. It must be hard to find real friends in your business," I said as he dropped his hand from the door and walked over to the armoire. He glanced at me and looked back at the iPod sitting in its cradle. He scrolled through the music, looking for something. Elliott Smith's 'Between the Bars' filled the room then and his smile grew as he sauntered towards me.

"We've known each other since we were kids. He's my best friend. Believe me; nobody else could get away with half of the shit he does." He ran his hand through his mess of auburn hair, leaving it sticking out in all sorts of crazy sex-hair ways. I wanted to smooth it, tame it and then mess it up again myself. My skin grew warm at the thought of my hands in that hair and how close his lips would be…

"Hey," he said. I blinked and his proximity made me gasp. He had stopped right in front of me, so close I could just reach out and touch his chest, his face…

"Hey," I breathed back as I reminded myself yet again that this exquisite creature before me was not only half my age, but could have any woman in the civilized world with the quirk of one sexy eyebrow. I had never considered myself a cougar before, but I definitely felt like purring when I was around him. However, I was certain that 'old lady pussy' was not something he would want.

Still, he made me dizzy, or maybe that was the whiskey. Either way, I stepped back to put a little distance between us and banged my leg into one of the forty or so occasional tables. I lost my balance and fell backward. Edward caught my arm and pulled me hard into him.

The pull was hard. The table was hard. Edward's chest muscles as I slammed against him were hard. Edward... was hard.

_Hello, Mr. Happy!_

"Caught you again." That slow lazy smile turned into a crooked I-want-to-fuck-you-until-you-scream-and-no-I-wasn't-asking-permission smirk. Staring up into those endlessly green eyes, I was rapidly devolving into a puddle of goo, so I did the only defensive thing I could think of – I became a smartass.

"Watch it, cowboy. That pistol you're packing could go off accidentally and shoot you in the foot." I knew it sounded stupid and my face was red, but I had to do something, anything to diffuse this... whatever it was. It certainly couldn't be what it seemed to be turning into; my reason must be addled from the whiskey.

A deep rumble of laughter in his chest vibrated through me and sent electrical sparks shooting through my veins. I felt a trickling down my inner thigh. He slid his free arm around my waist, pressing me snuggly against his hard length. His other hand let go of my arm and began tracing soft patterns on my sleeve. His gaze roamed across my face, down my neck to the buttons of his shirt and back again to my eyes.

"Going from Ma Barker to Mae West, are you? Good; Mae suits you better. She was all woman, just like you." A shiver chased his fingers as they travelled up my arm. His smile turned even more devilish and his eyes narrowed. "Oh, and you don't need to worry about my pistol. It _never_ goes off half-cocked."

"That's it. Stop."

It took every ounce of willpower I could muster to do it, but I put both hands on his chest and pushed. Not hard, mind, just enough to let him know he needed to back off. He immediately dropped his arms to his sides and the smile from his lips, stepping back to give me room.

"I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood. I thought you were interested," he said as he ran his hand through all that hair again. There was disappointment as well as hurt in those beautiful green eyes.

I simply stared at him. I hadn't expected him to come on to me so strongly, nor to back off so quickly at the least resistance. This man was a very interesting puzzle. I wanted more than anything to know him better.

So far, I realized, he had been completely candid with me. That was very different from the majority of men I had met in my life. They were so busy showing off their wit, charm, money or power that it took ages to get to know who they really were behind all of that. Sadly, who they were was rarely as nice as the original persona they presented, which, I am sure, is why they hid behind it.

Edward had money, fame, charm and wit, and power to an extent, but he had also chased a thief to recover the property of a stranger. He took me in to his own living space, a place that I'm positive paparazzi and fans alike would kill to know the location of, not even knowing my name or what possible danger I might pose to him. He cleaned and dressed my wounds and fed me. Nothing had been said about compensation, nor did he make me feel I owed him anything for all he had done. My thanks were insufficient, but sincere, and I'm sure he wouldn't have asked for more.

I had to try to make him understand that it truly wasn't him; it was me.

"I… I'm the one who is sorry. I _am_… interested. My God, I'd be an idiot not to be! It's just that I'm…" I gestured to myself, "and you're…" My hands fell open, incapable of encompassing all that he was. "I don't… do things like that – like _this_." I shook my head at my lack of verbal skills. "I'm explaining this badly, but please don't feel rejected. God knows, that is the last thing I could do to you."

He stood silently for a moment and then reached out to grasp each of my hands in his own. They seemed small in his palms and he held them lightly, almost reverently, slowly stroking my fingers with his thumbs. When he spoke, his voice was soft, almost as though he was talking to himself.

"I know what you see when you look at me, and what you may have heard or read about me. But I'm not that image that sells magazines and movie tickets. I don't date a dozen starlets or my latest leading lady. I haven't actually _had_ a date in quite a while; it's too difficult to enjoy myself knowing that photos of whatever we do and wherever we go will be spread across tabloids and internet sites before the next morning. And that isn't fair to whomever I've taken out, either."

He finally raised his eyes from our hands to gaze into mine. "I also know that I've enjoyed today immensely, though I am sorry you were hurt. You said earlier that it must be difficult for me to make friends and you're right. There are several mistakes I have made in that regard. But I haven't felt a connection with anyone in a long time, certainly not with someone whom I've just met. You're so… _real._ You weren't star struck, not even after you realized who we were. You didn't try to be anything other than a funny, intelligent woman. Yet you were willing to let your guard down in so many ways. You have no idea how I admire that about you."

I was speechless. This beautiful man was proving to me just how right I had been about him. When did I become so good at reading character?

A nervous chuckle fell from his lips as the little lop-sided smile hesitated there. "For the record, I don't do things like _this_, either. Ever. I'm not sure why I want to now, except that you're so damned lovely and funny and smart… and I've been hard for you ever since you admitted you were distracted by Jasper's ass."

"That long, huh?" I laughed sheepishly and hung my head. "I wasn't just distracted by Jasper's ass, by the way; I was staring at yours, too." I looked back up at him and he let that damn crooked smile fill his face. He stepped forward again, closing the distance that he had put between us. His scent filled my head as he did.

"Agreeing that _this_ isn't what either of us would _normally_ do, would you? I mean, could… could I… _we_? Ah, this isn't easy. Dammit, where's a scriptwriter when you need one?" he joked awkwardly as he closed his eyes and one hand ravaged his hair. My pussy sent up a white flag.

He was so fucking adorable. I wanted him at least as badly as he wanted me, probably more, but there were things I needed him to know first.

I bit my lip. "Since we're being honest with each other, I have to tell you; it's been a while. I'm really out of practice."

Edward tilted his head and gazed at me. "Oh? And why is that? Are you just too damn picky?" he smirked.

"Yes, I am picky, and I have to be slightly more than just attracted to someone. I have to feel something for them as well. And I do. I like you." I chuckled at the admission. "Okay, you can run now. She said 'like'." I tried to loosen my hands from his grasp but he only pulled me closer.

"Hm. Look at that; not running. You know what I said about feeling a connection? I didn't mean just a physical one. I'm the same way, and I like you, too," he said, smiling down at me. His eyes crinkled at the corners and I had to smile back. He placed my hand on his chest and left it there as he raised his fingers to my cheek. "How long is 'a while', anyway?" he murmured as he stroked down towards my jaw.

"Eleven years."

His eyes flew wide and his hand stilled in shock. "Why?"

I reached up to recapture his hand. "That's when my husband died. It's thirteen if you count the years he was sick. He had cancer."

Edward's eyes were troubled as he swept across my cheek with the back of his hand, clinging to my fingers. "How come you didn't… did you date at all?"

I nodded. "Some, but I couldn't bring myself to let down those guards you were talking about. It's not that I felt disloyal or anything, I just … the idea made me feel too… _alive_, I guess. That sounds stupid." I shook my head at my lame answer, but in truly circular logic, I had avoided those types of relationships because I didn't want to discover what my reasons were for avoiding them. If no one was asking, I didn't have to think it through. What was it about him that made me want to figure it out now?

"It doesn't sound stupid at all. We put up walls to protect ourselves. Sometimes it takes a while to decide it's okay to look over them again." He wrapped his other arm around my waist as I let my forehead drop the two inches between us to lean on his chest. He smelled amazing and my resistance was slipping fast. I had to keep going.

"Another confession: I have two kids. Sons, actually; they get along like you and Jasper. The two of you remind me of them in a lot of ways, which brings me to why I should really be walking out that door right now. I'm old enough to-"

"To know better?" Edward chuckled as he tilted my head back to look into my eyes. I stared up into an emerald universe in which I could willingly lose myself and was damn close to doing so.

"To know better, yes. But right now I just possibly feel young enough not to care," I murmured as his tongue slid out to moisten his lips.

He hummed in his throat. "Good, because I don't care, either. It doesn't matter to me if you're thirty, forty or a grandmother of sixty-three, though if you are, damn woman, you're in fine shape." He laughed, as did I. He brought both hands to my face then, caressing my cheeks with his thumbs.

"Thanks, but I think you may need glasses. I'm far from a size two, my ass is big & my boobs sag from breastfeeding my sons," I snorted. He stared at me with those gorgeous eyes and smiled.

"Jasper told you, we're surrounded by nearly-naked women all the time. Many _are_ size two, and less, and none of them have enough of an ass to get a good grip. They tend to have very small boobs and if they don't, they're fake. None of them would dream of breastfeeding, either, if they would even risk their figures with a pregnancy. Like I said, you're real. I much prefer real."

His thumb traced lightly across my lips. "There's something I've been dying to do for hours. May I?" he asked softly.

I could only nod as I returned his caresses, my hands exploring the ripples of his chest through his t-shirt. His fingers slid to the back of my head, unclipped my barrette, and loosened my hair. It fell around my shoulders like a dark waterfall and he exhaled hard. I watched his eyes as they roamed from my hair to my lips and neck and back again. He held his breath and slowly slid his hands through, cradling my head in his palms for a moment before he buried his face in my hair. The deep breath he took was followed by a moan of longing that shook me to my toes.

I felt the rough stubble of his jaw along my neck as he began planting soft kisses on my hair and ear. I hardly knew what I was doing, but apparently, some things _are_ just like riding a bicycle. My hands found their way into that riot of bronze and rejoiced in the silkiness of it, smoothing and combing it, finally tugging as his teeth nipped at my earlobe and I whimpered. He raised his head to look into my eyes; his were dark and wild, his breaths ragged as they tumbled from his open mouth.

I didn't know where to look, his eyes or his mouth. Those feral eyes frightened me with their intensity even as they scorched away the last of my defenses, leaving me shaking and compliant. That mouth. My God, that mouth; it was hot and hungry, wet with desire, his soft lips quivering with need. He decided for me, grasping my hair tightly in both hands and pulling my face so close to his that for a moment we shared the same breath. His mouth found mine.

This was no tender first kiss, no timid feathering of lips on lips, hesitant to breathe else the moment be lost. This was war, an onslaught of tongues and lips and teeth, each one battling to be the one defeated, to be allowed the ecstasy of submission to the other. This was revelation and deliverance and genesis and absolution; the whiskey hot taste of him was so divine I thought I might actually faint. When there was no more breath in our bodies, and not a moment before, we pulled apart, shaking in fear and delirium, gasping in the scent of each other's skin as our mouths found new places to ravage.

I kissed his eyes, his cheekbones, his brow as his lips seared my throat. He bit my collarbone and I moaned. He stilled suddenly, his lips on my flesh, his hot breath panting out around them.

"What's wrong?" I gasped, terrified that I had done something to make him stop. His mouth was still on me; I didn't think I could survive if he were to remove it.

"Too fast," he panted into my neck. "Too much, too fast. I want this to last, and you deserve slow and sweet."

"I don't want slow and sweet; I want you however you want me." I couldn't tell if I was still drunk from the whiskey or if this intoxication was all Edward, but I was wonderfully dizzy and I didn't want it to stop.

"You're injured… I don't want to hurt you," his breathing was still rough but he was calming himself down.

My hands were still tangled in his hair. Our mouths had been so busy that our limbs had merely hung on for the ride. I tugged until he raised his head to look at me. His eyes were still dark, but I could see he was coming back to himself. I shook my head.

"I want you to hurt me. I want you to have me." He tried to interrupt but I put my fingers over his lips. "You have to understand; until today, I was going through the motions. I wasn't really living; I wasn't _feeling_. You broke down that wall I built. I can feel again. Make me _feel_. I want to feel _you_." I pressed my hips against his and felt his hardness straining to meet me. His lips pushed past my hand and met my own, still needy but slightly less desperate than before.

He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine, shifting his hips slightly away from me. For a few moments we simply caught our breath. He closed his eyes. His face was beautiful before; it was even more so now with passion trembling on each eyelash. I waited for him to speak.

"I want to feel you, too, all of you, but you have injuries and I'm not going to make them worse. I'm not a monster. I can't do that to you. I won't."

I could feel hot angry tears threatening to spill.

"So that's it? Break down my walls so you can reject me? Bring me to places I've only imagined in my fevered widow's dreams just to leave me at the gate? If that's your idea of not hurting me, you're already a monster." The tears coursed down my cheeks as I tried to pull from his embrace. He held me tighter and kissed the tears as they fell. His fierce gaze locked on mine and burned a fresh hole in my heart. He was too beautiful, too dangerous, and too close.

His velvet voice whispered, "I said I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't say I wasn't going to finish what I started."

His words were gasoline on a smoking pile of ash; flames burst across my body, heating everything within me. Green fire smoldered in his eyes as he pulled me to his bedroom.

He stopped next to the bed and took my face in his hands. He brushed away the tear tracks and kissed me, sweetly and gently.

Okay, so there was something to be said for sweet, and slow could be downright delicious, but I was burning already and his touch was nowhere near where I wanted it to be. He wrapped his arms around me, but loosened them again when he brushed against my bandage and I jerked. His eyes hardened.

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of – I don't want to forget what I'm doing and hurt you more," he said in disgust as he dropped his hands from me. I panicked; the fire in me had been lit and now was burning hot. I had to do something to change the way this was heading. The bandage gave me an idea. If he wanted slow, things were going to have to lighten up some.

I put my hand on his chest and playfully walked my fingers up his shirt to his neck. I let them slide up into the hair at his nape and he dropped his head to my shoulder, his hands resting on my waist. I licked at his ear before crooning, "Oh, Doctor Cullen? I have several places that… _ache. _Would you give them your _special_ attention?"

Edward looked up at me in surprise. I batted my eyes and smiled coyly.

_God, I am _so_ rusty at this! Please let this work!_

"Well? You did tell Jasper I needed some Tylenol and you were going to check my bandage, didn't you?" He nodded slowly as I crawled up onto the bed and lay on my stomach. "Examine away, 'Doc'," I smirked.

He grinned at my little game and reached for the back of my shirt, but stopped. He dashed to the bathroom only to return with a small pill bottle and a pair of the silicone gloves. Now _this_ would be fun. I sat up and took one glove from him. When he started to speak, I put my hand over his lips. "Hush," I told him. "I want to do this part."

I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled him close to me, placing his left hand on my leg. He started to squeeze my thigh through my skirt but I shook my head at him. He grinned but silently obeyed as he watched me roll up the glove as far as I could, almost turning it inside out. I then placed each of his finger tips inside the end of one of the glove fingers. I slowly unrolled the glove over his fingers, paying close attention to each one, rubbing my fingers in between them and smoothing the silicone until it was on to my satisfaction. Edward watched silently, but when I kissed the end of his thumb and took it in my mouth, sucking hard, he gasped and I thought he was going to implode. I opened my lips to let it slide out along my tongue, lightly bit his finger tip and picked up the second glove. He practically snatched it from me.

"I'll do this one," he insisted, blushing as he adjusted himself. I smiled and lay back down on my stomach, pleased to see his hands were shaking a little as he pulled on the glove.

He moved up the side of the bed to sit next to me. My head was turned on the pillow so I could see his face. He folded his hands together and stretched them in the gloves as he watched me. He leaned down and chuckled, "That was a naughty thing you did, teasing me like that. I think you enjoyed it."

I smiled at him sweetly. "I don't know what you mean, Doctor."

His eyebrows rose. "Oh, I think you do." He smirked and raised the back of my shirt. He carefully pulled the tape loose and checked my scrapes. "It looks good; you've stopped bleeding. If we can keep from stressing it any, it should heal nicely." He gave me a stern look as he pressed the tape back into place.

"I guess that means I have to stay off of my back, wouldn't you say, Doctor?" I looked up at him through my lashes.

"Probably so, Ms. Porter," he smirked, leaning one hand on the bed behind my legs.

"On my side is all right?"

"On your side would be just fine, Ms. Porter. As a matter of fact, I ought to check your hip. You landed on it rather hard, didn't you?" He slid his free hand slowly under the edge of my skirt, the smooth glove creating a most interesting sensation on my skin. Those beautiful green eyes watched the fabric bunch above his hand as his fingers moved up my thigh. I heard his sharp intake of breath when he reached my bruise.

"Wow; as bad as this looks, I'm amazed you didn't break anything. This could have been a lot worse." His fingers gently stroked the edges of the contusion sending tiny quivers along my thigh straight to my pussy. "Sadly, there isn't much to be done for a bruise; it simply has to heal on its own," he mused, his strokes straying farther from the discoloration and further up and down my thigh with every pass. His head dipped down and his lips lightly brushed the center of the bruise. Pin pricks of pain radiated from the point of contact, but they were definitely tempered by the sight of his mouth on my leg.

"There, I've kissed it better. Now it _has_ to heal quickly." His eyes sparkled above that sexy smile.

"Um, doctor, I have some other places that need to feel better, too…" I purred at him as my pussy swooned. _Seriously, how does this man walk around without some kind of warning label on him?_

"Is that so? I suppose I should give you a complete physical then," he smirked and those green eyes danced. "But first, you need to take these." His tone turned serious as he handed me the pill bottle and got up to go into the bathroom, stripping off the gloves as he went. He came back with a water glass and I sat up to take it from him. After I swallowed the tablets, he put the glass on the bedside table and sank back down next to me, running his fingers slowly from my ankle to my calf.

"I would hate to think you were hurting when you should only feel good," he said softly.

"What hurting? Everything you are doing feels good," I sighed, stretching my leg out to give him better access. He grinned and slid his left hand up the inside of my calf. When he reached the crook of my knee, he stopped. His fingertips drew teasing hieroglyphs on the sensitive skin there and I reached out to cup his cheek in my palm. He wrapped his free hand around my good shoulder and pulled me closer, stroking my hair as our lips met once again.

Soft, steady sucking of lips and tongues, tiny nibbles of teeth; _this_ was the sweet and slow he was talking about. It was delicious and driving me fucking crazy. I was ready to rip his clothes off and throw him down on the bed, but this was what he wanted. I had to let him do this his way, or he might decide I wasn't in good enough condition to do it at all. I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to restrain myself, though. My hands slid into his hair and held on for dear life.

His fingers roamed again, further up the underside of my thigh, beneath my skirt. I wriggled, trying to get his hand to where I needed it so badly. He chuckled against my lips.

"Impatient, aren't you?" He smiled that killer smile again.

"Yes. Can this come off, now?" I bunched his t-shirt in both of my hands and I tugged. He laughed, bowed his head and rolled his shoulders forward to allow me to pull it off of him. He looked up at me, hair even more tousled than before. The shirt dropped from my stunned fingers to the floor.

_Sweet merciful Heaven._

I had been completely accurate in my initial assessment – this man _was_ a god. His frame was tall and lanky, but the muscles that covered it were toned and firm. His skin was smooth, stretching as his muscles moved, mesmerizing me. His chest hair invited me to explore him, reddish blonde below his throat darkening to an auburn happy trail leading under his waistband. My hands went straight to his flat stomach, wandered up to his chest and around to his back.

I relished the feel of him under my hands as I dropped my lips to his left nipple and licked it. I sucked it into my mouth and he inhaled sharply, softly moaning my name. He tasted salty and sweet, like whiskey and chocolate. I bit gently and licked his nipple again as one of his hands tangled in my hair and the other went back under my skirt to my thigh. He pulled on my hair to release my mouth from his chest. He was breathing heavily as he attacked my face with tiny stubbly kisses.

"Please, Edward. Touch me," I whimpered, not caring what that sounded like. If he wanted me to beg, I'd gladly do it.

His lips trailed along my jaw to just below my ear as his hand wandered torturously up the inside of my thigh. His fingers brushed the spot at the top of my thigh and stopped, then spread themselves slowly across my mound. My hips rose to meet his hand of their own accord, pushing against it to achieve some friction, any friction. His head dropped to my shoulder and his breath shook. When he looked up at me again, his eyes were hooded and dark.

"Fuck. No panties? Shit, Esme, you're going to kill me." He turned his full attention to getting my skirt unzipped and off. I lifted my hips so he could slide the material down my legs. When I settled back against the pillows in nothing but his blue button-down, he froze for a moment, gazing at my pussy like a teenager who had never seen one before.

I started to feel nervous. I had never been high maintenance nor done more than keep myself neatly trimmed, even when Paul was alive. I still did that, at least, but I wasn't one for crazy waxing. Those starlets he worked with would have been bare or nearly so. Edward had to be really turned off at this point.

"You are so beautiful."

_What? _ I must have heard wrong, but when he lifted his emerald gaze to meet my eyes, his expression said he'd just won the lottery.

"So fucking beautiful. So _real_. Damn it, Esme, why aren't more women like you?"

I had no answer for that and I don't think he really wanted one. Instead, I reached for his hand and placed it again where I needed it to be. He watched his fingers sweep through the soft curls, down into the wetness waiting for him. He groaned and closed his eyes for a moment as he stroked the slick heat, his fingers teasing. I moaned, pressing my hips forward but he kept his touch light.

"So wet. So perfect," he murmured.

I was beyond caring what my flaws were at this point – People magazine had declared him Sexiest Man of the Year for three years running, yet he was here, having his evil way with _me_. I lifted my left leg and slung it across his lap, opening myself further to his exploration. He watched his fingers dance along my dripping folds and he slowly circled my clit, brushing ever so close, then back. No matter how much I wiggled, he kept up the taunting stroking.

His erection was visible through his jeans and I rubbed the denim along his length. He jerked as if to pull his hips away, but I grabbed his belt and hooked my leg over his, holding him in place. I pulled his belt from the buckle and wrestled for a moment with the top button of his jeans.

_If he can tease, then damn it, so can I._

It wasn't easy to concentrate on his second button. He'd begun dipping the tip of one finger into me as he was making those frustrating passes away from my throbbing clit. It took all I had to resist impaling myself each time. I got the second button open and his cock twitched towards the near-freedom it sensed. I ran one fingernail lightly around the head that was already leaking pre-come through his boxers. He groaned and reached with his free hand to pull mine away.

I caught it with my other hand and brought his fingers to my lips. I sucked them one by one, licking in between them, nibbling his palm and scraping my teeth lightly across his knuckles. His breathing was getting shaky, though his fingers never faltered on my pussy. I unbuttoned another button of his jeans and caressed his cock through his shorts. It was hard and thick, and it jumped as I brushed my fingertips up and down and up again.

Edward lifted his eyes from the delicious torture he was inflicting to stare at what I was doing to his hand. His lips were slack and dry, and his tongue slipped out to wet them. I wanted it. I wanted that tongue and those lips on my mouth. I placed a last kiss in the center of his palm and dropped his hand. I tangled mine in his wild hair and leaned forward to kiss him. He chose that moment to slip one long finger into me.

I felt my muscles clench at the welcome invasion and I gasped. He crushed my mouth with his and slid his finger slowly out, tickling his way back to my clit and giving it a firm rub. I damn near bit his tongue. I groaned into his mouth and he slid his finger inside of me again, this time stroking slowly in and out several times. On the fourth stroke in, he added a finger.

I gripped his cock as I tensed to the sensation. I stroked up again and kept going this time, to the waistband of his boxers. My fingers pulled at the elastic and brushed against the smooth skin of his head. I felt the pre-come coat my fingers as they slid down across his slit and wrapped around the velvety shaft. He moaned into my mouth as his hips thrust up into my hand.

He released my lips and stared into my eyes a moment before looking down at my fingers wrapped around him. He was still stroking two fingers in and out of me, and as he watched my hand slide down his cock, gripping him firmly, he added a third finger. His strokes in and out of my pussy matched mine on him. I was shaking with the need for release and I tightened my hold. He winced and groaned.

He pulled my fingers from him and held them a moment, his forehead resting on mine, his other hand now still as well, buried to the knuckles in me as we panted.

"Esme," he managed after a moment, "God, you feel amazing. But I'm going to come if you keep touching me like that, and I'm not ready to just yet. I want this to be for you right now." He kissed me gently and slowly curled his fingers inside of me. I shuddered as tremors ran like lightning deep within me, spreading hot and tight through my pelvis to my thighs and down my legs. He slowly withdrew his fingers, then pushed them in again, curling them against my walls as his thumb began circling my clit.

I grabbed hold of his hair with both my hands as I shook under his skilled touch. My eyes closed and my head dropped back. It hit the headboard and I was grateful for the support as my body was quickly losing all ability to stay upright on its own. His lips drifted down my exposed throat, licking, sucking and nibbling. His fingers pumped slowly and firmly in and out, his thumb teased me and I felt the lightning running faster and tighter, burning hotter.

"Fuck," I breathed.

"Soon," he murmured between kisses along my collarbone.

His other hand slipped under the hem of his shirt I still wore, skimming up my side and across my ribs. He gently cupped my breast as if testing the weight of it, then softly squeezed, his thumb caressing my already hard nipple. I gasped and tugged at his hair. If I didn't come soon, I was going to lose my mind from the overload of sensation, but dear God, never let this sweet torture end.

"Edward, please…" I moaned as his mouth closed on my nipple through his shirt. He sucked the hard bud and the feeling of his tongue rubbing the wet fabric against it in his hot mouth drove me mad. His fingers pumped harder in and out of me, his thumb stroking a firm rhythm across my clit. I couldn't see; I could barely breathe, my hips swiveling in tandem with his hand as he fucked me with his fingers.

His thumb replaced his lips on my nipple and I felt his hot breath on my neck, in my ear. "Come for me, Esme. Let go, honey; I'll catch you. Let go and come for me, because I'm dying to bury my cock in your beautiful pussy. I want to fuck you hard and make up for those thirteen years. Come, baby!"

He bit my neck and I cried out as the first wave of my orgasm twisted through me. He kept whispering, "For me," as he pinched my nipple and nuzzled his way to my other breast, biting it through his shirt until his lips closed over the hard peak. He pinched and bit at the same time, his other thumb rubbing my clit as his fingers fucked me furiously.

I shattered. Sparks exploded behind my eyes and fire chased lightning from my nipples through my veins to my pussy and back again, winding tighter and higher and hotter, burning and aching and twisting and oh, oh God …

"Oh, God… I'm ah, oh … Edward… I'm … Edward! Oh, fuck, fuck, God, FUCK…yes! Oh, yes! Oh, God, yes…" There were more unintelligible whimperings and cries as nerve endings I'd forgotten I owned shot fireworks through my body as it clenched his hand, rolling in waves of heat and light, leaving me limp and shaking. Edward kissed me sweetly, softly, the hand that had been ravaging my breast now cradling my head as the other stroked me, gently coaxing each tremor from me as he brought me back down. He nuzzled my neck and shoulder, his whiskers scratching softly along my collarbone.

My hands loosened in his hair and I finger combed the tangles from it. I was dazed and breathless, dizzy from the height he had taken me to before coaxing me over the edge. My arms slid down to wrap around him and my forehead dropped to his shoulder as I closed my eyes.

"Thank you," I whispered as I breathed him in and slid my fingers across the smooth muscles of his back.

"My pleasure," he murmured in return. He swept my hair away from my neck and I felt his lips brush just under my ear. He gently removed his left hand from my pussy and I shivered at the loss of his touch. A moment later he moaned in his throat. I opened my eyes to see him with his eyes closed, sucking his fingers, as his tongue licked them clean.

_Sweet Jesus, that's hot._

I gasped at the look of desire on his face and my lips moved to his jaw of their own accord. I planted kisses along the sharp edge of it, his beard rough on my lips as I sucked my way to his mouth. He turned his head to meet mine and I tasted myself on his tongue.

_Damn, we taste good together._

Our tongues tangled for a few minutes, neither forceful now nor too gentle. This was stroking and exploring; give and take meeting equally. I moved my leg from across his lap and let my foot hit the floor. He released my lips and looked into my eyes as he dropped his hands to the top of my ass. He was still sitting sideways on the bed, his torso twisted towards me with his feet on the floor.

"I think it's time you got more comfortable," I said, teasing my fingers through his chest hair, circling his nipples. He hissed when I dragged my nails across them and I bent my head to lick each in turn. I let my hands drift lower, tracing his abs and running my fingers through his happy trail. I hooked my fingers once again under the elastic of his boxers and let one fingertip caress the tip of him. He jerked and squeezed my ass. I smiled and unwrapped my right leg from its position behind him, sliding off of the bed to stand in front of him, my hands settling in his riot of hair. His hands immediately came back under his shirt to rest on my ass, kneading it gently. He tilted his head up, those gorgeous eyes a deep jade as I leaned down for a kiss. I felt his hand slide from my ass to between my thighs and brush against me. I nibbled his bottom lip and broke the kiss, shaking my head at him.

"No, you amazing man. It's your turn now," I said as I knelt down. I let my hands slide from his hair to his shoulders and down his chest and stomach to his jeans. I gave a gentle squeeze to his cock through his boxers before undoing his last button. He leaned back on his elbows and raised his hips enough for me to slide his jeans down past his ass. I reached down and untied his sneakers, slipping off first one and then the other, before peeling his socks off and pulling his jeans free from his legs. And what legs.

Long, lean, muscled… they begged me to lick and nibble them just as much as his chest had. I grinned to myself at the torture I was about to put this exquisite man through. I picked up his left foot and massaged it for a minute, pressing with my fingers into his instep and sole before putting it down on my thigh and repeating the action on his other foot. I glanced up to see his eyes were closed in pleasure.

Slowly and firmly, I began to massage his calves, one in each of my hands. I kept my eyes on my task and murmured, "Lie back, sugar. Enjoy this."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him hesitate and then relax onto the bed. I placed a little kiss on his left ankle and he sighed. I slowly rubbed up his leg to his knee and back down, then did it again, trailing kisses along his skin where my hands had just been. He shifted and I looked up to see his hands gripping the coverlet. His shorts were tented.

_Nowhere in the vicinity and I've got that reaction already. Go, me! _

I moved to his other leg, massaging it as I had the first one, but licking instead of kissing my way up the second time. I ran my tongue under his knee and sucked gently. He shivered and his tent pole twitched.

I put a hand on the outside of each of his knees and massaged his muscles, moving slowly towards his hips, squeezing and stroking as I kissed my way up the inside of his thighs. He had been relatively quiet up until now; only a few moans had escaped his lips. My hair brushed against him and he shook.

"Jesus, Esme." His voice was strangled and rough. I felt his hand on my head and I pulled my lips from his thigh.

"No, Edward. You just hang onto those covers for right now." I pulled his fingers from my hair and kissed his hand before I put it back on the bed. He grabbed the coverlet again and I went back to my sweet torture.

I was almost to the tops of his thighs. I slid my fingers under the legs of his shorts, teasing with my nails along both thighs as I made my way to where they joined his torso. I brushed the incredibly soft skin there and both of his legs jumped as he moaned. I kept going, reaching for his waistband from the inside of his boxers, pulling it out and away from him and sliding them down. He quickly raised his ass up and I had them off in seconds.

_Holy fuck. _

He was magnificent, smooth in all the right places, thick and vein-y, with a glorious purple head that was dripping with pre-come, and standing completely at attention. I wanted to just sit and admire him but the thought of how he would taste urged me on.

I slid my hands slowly back up his thighs until they were on either side of the base of his cock. I swirled my fingers through the auburn hair at the treasure end of his trail, scratching lightly with my nails. He groaned and fisted the covers, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Fuck, Esme! Please, just… ah…" he swallowed hard and arched his neck as he shook his head back and forth in frustration. I smiled at the reaction I was eliciting.

_Maybe Mama hasn't lost her touch after all._

I flattened my hands on his V, holding him down with slight pressure. I lightly rested my nose at his base and slowly dragged it up the length of him, inhaling his scent of sweat, chocolate, whiskey and pure man. It was definite – he was intoxicating. He hissed at the feel of my skin and breath on him and I couldn't hold back my desire to taste him any longer. I flicked my tongue out across his slit, licking up the beads of liquid. He jumped and opened his eyes, lifting his head to look at me. I smiled at him and gave a long slow lick around his head, my eyes never leaving his. His mouth dropped open and he began to pant.

_He tastes so fucking good, like… like perfection. I never want to stop tasting him._

I dragged my tongue across his head and down the underside of his cock, grasping him lightly with one hand. He rose up on his elbows so he could watch me, his fists still clinging to the covers. I licked all around him on my way back up, still slowly, stopping a time or two to blow gently across the wetness left by my tongue. His breathing was becoming ragged and I wondered how much longer I had. I was looking forward to making this gorgeous man scream but I didn't want him to come just yet.

"How're you doing, sugar?" I asked, surprised at the rasp in my own voice. God, I was so turned on by what he was letting me do to him. He closed his eyes a moment and sat up, reaching to move my hands away from his cock. I sat back on my heels and rested my palms on his thighs. He took my hands in his and interlaced our fingers before he opened his eyes. They were hooded, insanely green and full of lust. I shivered at the intensity of it and felt my own moisture trailing down my thigh.

"I really just want to fuck you now, but something tells me you aren't through trying to drive me insane. Am I right?" He struggled to compose himself, his hard cock jutting accusingly towards me.

I smiled up into those hungry eyes and stroked the backs of his hands with my fingers. "No, not quite, but if you want me to stop…"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Darlin', you've already kept me hard longer than I would have believed was possible, and if you want to keep doing what you're doing, I'm perfectly willing to see it through. But know that when I get my turn again," his emerald gaze burned into me, "I plan to make you forget your fucking name."

_Please and fuck me, thank you._

"You're on, Mister," I smirked and ducked, quickly wrapping my lips around him and sucking just his head into my mouth. He groaned and released my hands to slide his into my hair. He held my head and his hips bucked in an attempt to fuck my mouth. I grasped him lightly with both hands and he flinched, but I held still, not allowing him to move in my mouth. Not moving was as difficult for me as it was for him, apparently, but we both took a few deep breaths and he relaxed slightly, combing his hands through my hair.

I was glad he liked my hair. I planned to take advantage of that in just a moment, but first I had to test my own limitations. Now that he was no longer trying to shove his cock down my throat, I needed to see how far I could actually get it to go. He was longer and thicker than Paul had been, and I wasn't sure if I could keep from gagging. Keeping my jaw loose and my lips close to my teeth, I slowly slid more of him into my mouth. He grunted and I nearly just slammed it home right then, but I managed to maintain my incremental advance. He reached the back of my tongue and there was still more of him. I took a deep breath, relaxed my throat as much as I could, and kept going. I felt him hit the back of my throat and I stilled, just holding him. My lips met my fingers where they wrapped around him.

He fucking whimpered.

I moved then, slowly sliding back up, applying a bit of extra suction here and a brief gentle scraping of teeth there. I felt his fingers curling in my hair as he held back for me, groaning. I tightened my hold on the base of his cock, squeezing just enough to constrict the blood flow as I slid my lips back over his head. I gave one more kiss to his tip and raised my head. He rested his forehead on mine, breathing heavily as my grip allowed him to back away from his release.

"Fuck!" He gave a little laugh and pulled my face to his. His kisses were insistent, his tongue probing and caressing mine. He bit my lips gently and broke the kiss in order to catch his breath.

"Soon," I playfully threw his response back at him and he shook his head with a grin. I took the opportunity to disentangle his hands from my hair, kissing the knuckles of each hand before placing them down on the coverlet. He tilted his head and those wicked jade eyes narrowed as he watched me.

I still held his cock firmly in my left hand. I slid my mouth over his head and down, then back up, wetting him again. As I let him slip from my mouth, I reached for a lock of my hair with my right. His expression was curious as he watched me. I held the loose end of the lock at the base of him, and I slowly wrapped it up his shaft, draping my hair across his tip when I finished. I gently stroked him and the sensation of my hair rubbing along him had him fisting the covers again. I tilted my head and simply breathed hotly on him as I continued stroking him. He let out a hiss and I moved back up to his swollen head.

I could feel how hard he was under the softness of my hair. I opened my mouth and took him in, hair and all. He cried out, bucking his hips and grabbing my head in both hands. I knew I'd taken him almost to the edge again and this time I intended to pull him over. I sucked hard, running my lips up and down on him, my hair now wet and creating another sensation on his sensitive skin. He held my head still for a moment as he tried to control himself, and I took the opportunity to tug my hair free of him. The feeling of it sliding against his shaft and head was too much. He jerked back but I recaptured him and began sucking in earnest, pumping my hand in concert with the movement of my mouth. I reached down to cup his balls with my other hand, gently caressing them. His hips rose to meet me and he took over, fucking my mouth. I moved both my hands to his fabulous ass and held on, bracing myself.

I watched his face. His eyes were squeezed shut, his forehead creased in concentration and his mouth… oh, that beautiful, hot, dirty mouth. The most brilliantly filthy words were falling from his lips.

"Ah, fuck, God… shit, ah… oh, God. So good… The way you… suck my cock… ah, Jesus fuck! I wanna fuck… shit… fuck your mouth… forever… so… hot… Oh, God, coming, now, now, shit…"

Gentleman that he was, he tried to pull out of my mouth, but the hell with that. I brought him here, and the prize was mine. I held onto his ass, not giving him any room to move away. He bucked into me, hitting the back of my throat and tensing as his orgasm took over. His head dropped back and a growl erupted from his throat as he came hard, pulse after pulse filling my mouth. I swallowed every bit of it because damn it if this hot fucker didn't still taste like whiskey and chocolate.

He shuddered at the intensity of sensations and his groans and gasps were music to me. He let go of my hair to caress my face and I let him pull out of my mouth. His cock dropped onto his thigh and I kissed it, making him jump. He let out a shaky laugh and opened his eyes. The intense green was still there, a fire just under the surface. That sexy crooked smile made an appearance and though I had no panties left to poof, the effect was till devastating.

Edward leaned down to kiss me, mingling his flavor with the taste of his sweet mouth. I almost swooned from the combination, but he grabbed under my arms and raised me up onto the bed with him. He fell backward onto the mattress, pulling me down onto his chest. He made a small contented sound in his throat and brushed my hair back from my face as I gazed at him. I would never tire of looking at him. I made a mental note to subscribe to some entertainment magazines when I got home from my trip, just so I could have a steady source of Edward faceporn.

He tilted his head as he looked back at me. He chuckled and ran his hand through an incredible case of sex hair.

"What was _that_?" he asked incredulously. I raised one eyebrow sarcastically and he slapped my bare ass lightly. It suddenly got a lot warmer in the room.

"I mean, I know what it _was_, but damn, Esme, where did you… no one has ever done that to me before." His eyes were full of wonder and admiration.

I chuckled and drew little patterns in his chest hair with my fingertips. "It's something I decided to try once with my husband, Paul. He really liked it, so I kept doing it. I just took a chance that you would like it, too."

He let his eyes close and he sighed deeply. "Good call," he muttered.

I giggled and he laughed. He wrapped his arm around my good shoulder and let me snuggle into his side. I listened to his breathing as it evened out and deepened. He was asleep within minutes.

I knew I should probably get my things and leave, but I couldn't bear the thought of waking him, or worse, taking off and merely leaving him a note. We'd only just met, but we had moved along considerably in our… relationship?

_What is this, anyway? Are we fuck buddies now, or a hell of a one night stand? _I wanted to think about this but it was difficult to concentrate with his arm around me and his hand on my breast. I considered trying to get up without waking him, but finally decided that if I succeeded, I would only end up sitting next to him, watching him sleep. _Like that's not ultra creepy._

I eventually settled for lying with my head on his shoulder, listening to his gentle snores as they rumbled into my ear through his chest. His left hand lay across his stomach and I traced the lines of his long elegant fingers with my own. He stirred in his sleep, turning his face to kiss my forehead and linking his fingers through mine. It didn't take long before the regular rhythm of his breathing, the whiskey and the overwhelming events of the day caught up with me as well.

I was having the most amazing dream. There was a man in my arms; a warm, solid, naked male body who smelled delicious. His hand was caressing my face, my shoulder, down my arm to my hand. He kissed my fingertips. I smiled. He let go of my hand and ran his fingers down my thigh to my knee, hitching my leg over his.

Pain.

That was what woke me. Pain radiated from my bent hip which caused me to jerk my leg back.

"Ow, damn!" I clutched at my thigh, fingers scrabbling over bare skin, poking at it, trying to feel where the pain was coming from and only making it hurt more.

"Shit, I'm sorry! I didn't think… damn it!" A velvety voice spoke in my ear, contrition in every word.

My eyes flew open, the pain forgotten. In the shaded light spilling from across the room I saw a shaggy head and a lean torso. As the wisps of sleep left my eyes, I stared into pools of green framed by insanely long lashes. My fingers reached up to trace along his whiskery jaw.

"You're real," I whispered, awe and stupefaction warring for dominance in my head.

Edward smiled that damned crooked smile and brushed my hair off of my shoulder. "You seem surprised," he said, leaning down to kiss the corner of my mouth.

"I… I thought I dreamed you," I stammered. "I'm not used to waking up with a man in my arms."

He kissed me gently, sucking lightly on my lower lip. He stroked my cheek. "I don't usually wake up to a sexy woman in my bed either, but I may have to remedy that. I think I like it."

"Mm. Me, too, since it was me." I grinned and wiggled my eyebrows at him.

He chuckled and nuzzled my neck, planting kisses from my clavicle to my ear and back again. I tilted my head to the side, giving him more access. He shifted on the bed, raising up on one elbow and hovering over me. He stared at me a moment, then dipped his lips to my neck, sweeping softly up to my jaw, pulling back to look at me and doing it again, each time leaving kisses in a different spot. I let my hands explore his back as his muscles tensed and rolled each time he leaned in for another kiss.

He began to slowly unbutton the shirt I still wore, nudging the fabric out of his way with his nose and pressing soft kisses to my skin as it was revealed to him. He nibbled and teased his way from one shoulder to the other, barely brushing the tops of my breasts with his lips. Now and again he would stop to suck lightly, making me moan with want. He trailed his tongue along my left breast, licking ever-smaller circles around my nipple until I was writhing beneath him in an attempt to get it into his mouth. He simply smiled and moved to the other one.

Another button came open and a puzzled look crossed his face. He stopped his sweet torture of my breasts and released the rest of the buttons, sweeping his shirt to the sides and laying me bare before him. He stared and his eyes grew darker.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you, Esme?" His voice was deep crushed velvet as he reached out one finger and slowly traced the tattoo that began just below my right nipple and continued down my ribcage to my waist. I shivered at his touch. He dropped his head to the bottom of the tattoo, sucking and nibbling as I grasped his hair. He glanced up at me through those incredible lashes and the emeralds were smoldering.

"Tell me about it," he breathed before beginning to slowly lick his way up the tattoo.

I could hardly think with what he was doing with his tongue, but I made an attempt.

"It's, ah… ah, a tree…"

"Mmhm," he hummed along my ribs, his tongue tracing the trunk and following along one of the branches, scorching my skin. "What kind?"

"Of Life… and Kno-… uhh, Knowledge… the three biggest leaves… ohh… are my sons and Paul... the others… uh… mark other events… shit… I'll add another… God… when my book's puh… pub…lish-ssshhed… uhnn…" This last as his tongue circled my nipple before his lips latched on and he nibbled the tip.

He sucked the whole nipple into his mouth, hard, and then swiftly released it, his open mouth hovering millimeters above as his hot breath washed across my wet skin.

"Real…," he whispered so softly I almost missed it. His tongue darted out and teased, barely touching, and I pulled his hair sharply, trying to get more contact.

Apparently, he liked all the hair-pulling. He groaned and sucked hard again, nipping me with his teeth. His eyes met mine as his free hand palmed my other breast, pinching my nipple between his fingers. I could feel the tension building in me and the rush of moisture from my pussy. I needed friction.

"Edward…" I panted as I nudged his leg with mine. He continued his ministrations to my breasts as he slid his knee between my thighs, trapping his hard cock against my leg. He ground against me as I rocked my hips up to meet his thigh.

"Unnnh…" I gasped out, releasing my right hand from his hair and dragging my fingers down his cheek to his mouth. I slid one finger between his lips and rubbed my nipple. He moaned and sucked both finger and nipple before moving from my breast, my finger still in his mouth. He bit me gently and I curled my finger behind his teeth, pulling his mouth toward mine. We kissed and I let my wet finger slip from our lips, bringing it between us to my clit.

"Nuh unh," he hummed into my mouth. He let go of my other breast and captured my fingers, entwining them with his and bringing them to rest next to my head. He held them there as he shifted again, laying his chest on top of me, settling his body between my thighs. I moaned at the loss of his hard knee and tried to rub myself against him, but he grabbed my left hip and held me still. He broke our kiss and his jade eyes were stormy.

"I said…" his velvety voice was rough as he began kissing and nipping his way down my body, "that when it was my turn…" _kiss, bite, lick…_ "I had plans for you." He met my gaze again and smirked. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes that sent more moisture from between my legs and a moan from my lips. He grasped my left leg and bent my knee over his shoulder, opening me to him as his arm wrapped around my thigh, his hand resting on my pubic bone. He nuzzled my inner thighs, kissing lightly and nibbling, his stubble scratching deliciously over my sensitive skin.

Edward pulled our entwined hands to his mouth, running his tongue along my fingers before letting go of them. He palmed my right breast again, pinching the nipple gently before tracing my tattoo with his fingers down to my waist. He rested his left forearm on my thigh and teased his long fingers up and down the outside of my lips. He slowly slid one finger into the wet heat between them, grazing my clit and making me cry out. He raised his eyes to mine and the green was dark and intense.

"You might want to hold on to something." The words hovered on his lips and he licked them free.

I arched my back and stretched my arms above my head to grasp the headboard.

"Ow…" I hissed.

One perfect eyebrow rose as he glared at me.

I snickered. "Sorry. Tape was pulling," I lied. There was no way I would allow a little thing like a scraped back to stop what was about to happen. His face looked too gorgeous framed between my thighs.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded and tightened my grip on the headboard. He dipped his mouth to plant a gentle kiss just above my thigh as he watched me. The emerald fire in his eyes intensified as he ran his finger slowly through my curls, slipping through the fluid that had been accumulating at my heated center. He looked down as he spread me open with both hands, his muscular forearm pressed against my thigh. I couldn't read the expression on his face as he beheld what no one else had in over a dozen years.

"Jesus. I can't … you're so… fuck," was all he could get out before he buried his face in me. His tongue teased my nub, then licked hard all the way down me, dancing at my opening and further back. I cried out and tried to press up with my hips but his arms held me down firmly. He looked up at me and there was a devilish light in the depthless green.

"Oh, no, you don't. I had to endure your torture of my cock. It's my turn now, and I intend to make you suffer…" he smiled as he ran his tongue in circles around my clit, not touching it at all. He lapped at my opening before dipping his tongue in just an inch. He licked back up to just below my nub, blowing gently on it and sending frissons of electricity through my body. I clenched my thighs, trying to move, but it was no use. I was completely at his mercy and loving it.

He nibbled my lips and pushed his tongue further in me, massaging my walls and sucking the juices that were flowing freely. I moaned as his hot mouth on me wakened sensations that had been dormant for far too long.

"God, Edward… please, just… just… oh, fuck…" I begged as he suddenly withdrew his tongue and turned his attention to my lips once again. He licked and sucked them hard enough to leave marks before biting them where they joined just above my clit. I writhed at the intensity of his attention, gasping and moaning for more.

He slowed his assault, panting with heavy hot breaths, his gorgeous eyes staring up at me from under his lashes. A smug look was on his face and the desire in his voice was laced with humor.

"Begging already? But I'm just getting started. And I have a lot of years of no sex to make up for."

He bent his head back to his task, still watching me. His hot tongue dragged slowly around my clit, tormenting me, making me shiver as rivers of lightening danced through my body. He suddenly licked straight across the tight cluster of nerves and sucked it into his mouth, hard. My head thrashed and I gripped the headboard harder as my orgasm climbed to the edge, barely teetering.

"Fuck, shit… Jesus… Edward, no!" This last was due to him releasing me from between his lips and moving to nibble on my thighs. "Why did you stop?" I wailed and he chuckled darkly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you liked what I was doing. Did you want me to keep going?" he smirked.

"God, yes!" I panted and he leaned back in. He gave a gentle kiss to my clit and a tiny lick.

"Fuck, Edward! Please…" I was on fire and it would only take a small push to send me over, but he was enjoying teasing me.

"Wasn't that what you wanted?" he murmured against me, tickling my thighs with the scruff on his jaw.

"N…n-no," I was seriously about to lose my mind.

He pushed down on my hipbones with both hands, dragging his chest across my pussy as he crawled up my body, stopping to give each of my nipples a suck and a little bite. I was moaning and panting, arching my back up from the bed to try to get him to spend more time with his mouth on me somewhere, anywhere. The cuts on my shoulder stung when I did, but the pain only added to my desire.

He slid back down again, licking and biting down my ribs and stomach until he was back where he started with his face mere inches from where I needed him to be. Every nerve ending in my body seemed to be straining for his touch.

"Tell me. What do you need?" he demanded roughly and the hot moist breath from his mouth made me quiver.

"I ne-need… God, I need to c-come… please… make me come," I whimpered, nearly in tears from frustration.

He smiled and let his lips brush against me. "What do you want me to do? You have to tell me exactly."

Jesus, this man was going to be the death of me.

"Suck my clit… hard," I whispered as I tried to steady my breathing.

Then his lips were wrapped around the little nerve bundle and he was sucking, licking and God help me, biting. I couldn't take it anymore; the headboard just wasn't what I needed to hang on to. I let go of it and buried my hands in his hair, pulling him closer as I ground my pussy into his face. The edge I had been dancing along rose up in a wave and the most delicious tension spiraled through me, crashing finally as I fell.

"GOD! Oh, fuck shitdamn… uuhhhh, ohgodohgod… aahhh! Fuck!" The wave rose again, carrying me into another before the first one had quite ended. All I could do was cry out and hang on to his hair.

Edward let go and buried his tongue inside me, fucking me with it, in and out as I writhed. His strong fingers held my thighs open, probably keeping me from completely smothering him. As I came down from the second wave, he sucked hard at my entrance and pinched my clit between his fingers. Another orgasm crashed through and I had to remember to keep breathing as the heat and light exploded in me. I felt his tongue licking my walls as they spasmed around it. He kept up the pressure for a few more seconds, and then began to gently stroke his tongue along my pussy from end to end, lapping at my slickly flooded skin. I shuddered and felt him smile against me.

"You've had these building up for much too long; there's another one in there for me, isn't there? C'mon, baby… let it out," he coaxed. I shook my head, exhausted, unable to do more than moan, but my body betrayed me, responding to his words and his insistent fingers that were now pumping in and out of me.

"Come on, that's it… give it to me. I want everything you have, baby; come for me," he said before he pressed his tongue slowly across my nub. His long fingers curling in me and the heightened sensitivity of my clit sent showers of sparks behind my eyes and throughout my body. I came undone in his hands.

My back arched as I screamed his name. I felt my body splinter into a million pieces, raining down in a flood of light. His mouth was the center of my universe and seemed to be the only thing that kept me from scattering into infinity. He hummed against me and dropped kisses on my thighs as I rode it out.

"Christ…" I gasped as my world slowly stopped spinning. I realized I still had a death grip on his hair and it took a minute to relax my fingers enough to let go.

He laughed against my hip bone.

"Thanks, but I usually answer to 'Edward'," he smirked, his brilliant green eyes dancing as he gazed at me.

"Shut up. Smug bastard," I swatted feebly at his hands as they roamed up my body to my shoulders. I let him slide his shirt the rest of the way off of me and he dropped it on the floor. He leaned down to kiss my neck. The rest of him followed and he settled next to me, stroking my arm. An after-tremor shuddered through me and he grinned.

"Wow, five. I think that was a personal best. How about you?" he joked, giggling in my ear.

"Stop! Gah, you're awful!" I shook my head, but I was laughing too. I couldn't help it; I felt amazingly light.

"'Awful'? I don't _think_ so! At least, I don't recall you using that word…" His brow furrowed as if in deep thought as he ticked them off on his fingers. "'please', 'fuck', 'make me come', 'suck my clit hard'… nope. No 'awful' in there at all." His face was serious but the devil was in his eyes.

"I guess I meant, 'awful _good_'," I sighed and ran my fingers through his chest hair, tracing down his abdominal muscles and the top of his V before sliding my hand around his waist and pulling him to me.

He nuzzled my neck where it met my shoulder, licked his way up my throat, and bit my jaw until he finally claimed my mouth and all I could taste was us. His arms slid around me, holding me to his chest. The hair tickled my nipples and I wanted nothing more than to feel all of him against me. I wrapped my leg around his and he pulled back from the kiss in surprise.

"That doesn't hurt your hip?"

"Not enough to make me want to stop doing it," I breathed and leaned in to kiss him again. He leaned back a little farther.

"How's your back?" His hand hovered over the bandage he had so carefully placed.

"Not nearly as interesting as my front," I said and kissed him when he laughed.

He tasted so damn delicious. His talented tongue massaged mine, licking every part of my mouth as he had my pussy, occasionally taking little nibbles. I moaned and he increased the pressure as I tried to force my tongue into his mouth. I finally slipped past his teeth and he bit down gently, trapping me there. He sucked and licked my tongue; it was one of the most erotic things I had ever experienced.

I pushed my hips forward and tightened the leg I had wrapped around his. He raised his thigh between my legs to meet my wet center and I rocked against it. His cock lay thick and hard between his pelvis and my thigh, and I could feel it twitching with impatience as I moved.

Edward released my mouth and turned his attention to my jaw and neck, sucking and nibbling. When he moved on to my collarbone, I caught his ear between my teeth, licking along the shell and growling softly. He stopped moving and simply panted into my shoulder for a moment before pulling free. His eyes were forest green as he stared at me.

"You really shouldn't have done that," he said.

I tipped my head back so I could look at him from under my eyelashes. A smile crawled across my lips.

"Why not?" I challenged.

"Because I don't think I wore you out quite enough. You're still way too frisky. By the time I'm through with you, you won't be able to move."

I cocked one eyebrow at the dark look on his glorious face. My pussy was wet again from his words alone and the look in his eyes only heightened the tension that had already begun building.

"I suppose you can try-" was as far as I got.

His mouth crashed into mine and he grasped my shoulders with both hands, pulling his body over mine. He rained wet, hot, open-mouthed kisses down my neck to my breasts, taking each of them in turn into his mouth and sucking hard on my nipples, biting them and torturing them with his tongue. My head fell back and I groaned at his assault.

"Talk to me," he panted as he moved from one breast to the other, his hands grabbing and squeezing my arms and legs, sliding over my skin as if he couldn't touch me enough.

"God, Edward, your mouth feels so good," I moaned as he licked and nipped. "It's so hot and wet and I love it when you suck my nipples." He moaned in response and did as I requested. My back arched into him.

"Yes-sss… ah, oh that's so good! Just like that…" I whimpered. He nibbled the tip and I cried out. "Shit! God, you're making me so wet, baby. I'm gonna come if you keep doing that…"

He growled into my breast and sucked harder, grabbing my other breast in his hot hand and teasing my nipple with feathery touches before he pinched it hard. My hips bucked up into his and I felt him shift his body until he was between my thighs. His hard cock now lay just over my pussy and I ground myself along his thick length, drenching him with the juices he was coaxing from me with his mouth on my breast.

He groaned at the sensation and cursed, then let go of my breast and slipped his hand between us to tease my clit.

"Come on, Esme. Fucking come for me. I want to hear you when you come, so don't hold back, baby," he whispered as he licked and sucked my earlobe. He pressed down harder on the little bundle of nerves and rubbed across it, quickly, back and forth. I felt the fiery tension rising in me and the heat as it ran through my pelvis from the tip of his thumb. I tried to hold back, to make it last, but he slid two fingers in me and began pumping them, hard.

I came then, almost violently, bucking against his cock and his hand, and he bit my nipple again as a groan left his throat.

"Ahh! Fuck… oh, shit, Edward… please… please… GOD! Ah, ah, ah… shiiit…" My eyes clenched closed and I thrashed beneath him, my fingers clawing at his hair, unsure if I wanted to remove his mouth from where it tortured me or hold it in place forever. He broke away from my breast to rain kisses on my mouth and face.

"Fuck, Esme… shit, baby…," he begged between kisses. "I gotta fuck you. Please let me fuck you, I can't take anymore of this… I need to be inside you, now." He was shaking and I nodded, unable to do more than moan my acceptance into his mouth.

He pulled his body away from mine for a moment to rummage in the nightstand. I lay panting on his pillows and smirked at him. He looked at me in confusion as he pulled out a foil packet and dropped the box back into the drawer.

"You're awfully prepared for never doing things like 'this'," I teased.

He grinned as he tore the packet open with his teeth. "Guess I forgot to mention I was a Boy Scout. You just never know when an amazing woman will fall into your lap and turn your life upside down."

I laughed and sat up, taking the packet from him. "Here, let me. I'm more out of practice than you are." I gripped his erection with one hand and bent to lick it once, from base to tip. He shuddered and grabbed at my hair but I shook him off and swept my fingers over his swollen head, spreading his pre-come. I unrolled the condom down his thick shaft carefully and gave him a squeeze. His jaw tightened; I sucked my fingers and his eyes darkened.

"Delicious," I whispered and licked his lips before I kissed him.

He grabbed my face with both hands and shoved his tongue in my mouth. I moaned around it, stroking him with one hand as the other pulled at his hair. He broke the kiss, panting, his eyes squeezed shut as he fought for control.

"God… I want you so much. But I don't want to hurt you," he gasped, wrapping his hand around my fingers to stop my stroking him. He looked down at both of our hands around him and he grimaced. "Fuck, that's hot."

"You won't hurt me, baby. I won't let you," I breathed. "Edward, look at me."

He reluctantly raised his eyes to mine. I felt him press my fingers into his hardness and slowly pull my hand up him. He moaned and looked back down for a moment, then back up to me. His eyes were deepest jade.

"Lie down, sugar." I pressed my free hand against his chest and he complied, releasing my fingers, though I didn't let go of him. I straddled his thighs and leaned forward to kiss him again, slowly stroking him between our bodies.

"Damn it, Esme, just fuck me already. _Please…_" he begged as I trailed kisses along his jaw line and throat. I sat up and scooted forward until his cock was buried lengthways in my cleft. It felt amazingly hard and I couldn't resist rubbing myself along his length. My wetness made the condom slick and hot and I could feel him getting harder with each pass.

"God, you feel incredible. So hard and thick… I can't wait to get you inside me," I murmured. He grunted and grabbed at my hips, but I caught his hands in mine and tangled our fingers. I leaned over him then, pressing our hands into the bed next to his head. My breasts hung just below his mouth and he stretched out his tongue to lick my nipple. I moaned and shifted to allow him to capture the tip in his mouth. He sucked and hummed as I ground my hips on him. He let go, gasping, and I raised myself up a little, freeing him. His cock rose away from his body and I tilted my hips to align with him. I leaned back slightly until his head was at my dripping entrance. I nudged him and he gripped my hands.

"Esme… don't close your eyes. Please, I want to see your eyes."

I nodded as I stared into his deep green depths and slowly lowered myself onto him.

If I thought he had overloaded my senses earlier, I was wrong. I was completely unprepared for this. Yes, it's been a fucking long time, but Jesus, Paul never felt like this. Edward filled me and then some. He actually made me feel tight.

"Oh, fuck… shit… you're so hot and _wet_…" he moaned and pressed his hips up to mine, as I sank onto his hard thick shaft. It felt amazing as it slid into me, his silky heat pressing against my walls. I stopped when my ass was on his thighs and he was buried in me to the hilt. Neither of us moved for a moment, his fingers clutching mine.

"You okay?" I gasped, afraid that the slightest movement would send us both over the edge too soon.

He laughed and the tremors from that alone made me dizzy.

"That… would be the understatement of the fucking century," he panted. "I'm _way_ past okay…" He squeezed my fingers and I loosened my grip on his hands, letting him slip them from beneath mine. He brushed my hair back from my face where it hung like a curtain over him, his eyes searching mine.

"How are you doing?" he whispered as his hand slipped from my hair, down my shoulder to my breast, teasing my nipple lightly with his thumb. In answer, I slowly rocked my hips. His hands immediately flew to my hips and his neck arched back.

I leaned down to lick his throat and he moaned. _God, I love his sounds._ I rocked my hips again, slowly raising myself up, moving until just his head was still in me, then sliding back down. It was the most incredible feeling to be so full.

Edward's fingers had a fast grip on my hips and he was helping guide me as I slid up and down him. I rotated my hips mid-slide and he groaned, pulling me down hard on him.

_Jesus. _"Yes… yes, oh, that's good… God, yes," I moaned. I needed more, more of him, more of his skin on mine, more friction.

"You like that? You want it harder?" he gasped as I raised myself up again. I nodded, breathless, and he pulled on my hips again, slamming me down. We both moaned and I grabbed for his shoulders, needing to touch him more, to bring his mouth to mine. He met me halfway with heated kisses.

Wrapping his arms around my ass and lower back, he held me tightly as he sat up, pushing himself deeper in me. I whimpered into his mouth and he smiled against my lips.

"You feel like heaven," he whispered as we rocked together. He dipped his head to suck my nipple and I cried out, clawing at his back. He growled at my nails on his skin and bit my nipple lightly. I growled back and bit his ear. He wrenched his head away and stared into my eyes, his chest heaving.

"You keep playing like that and you're gonna find yourself on your back. I know you don't want that," he snarled. I was so turned on by his reaction all I could do was nod. His eyes narrowed.

"I mean it. I'm this close to just fucking the shit out of you, Esme. It won't be gentle. It'll be hard and rough. Is that what you want?" His jaw was clenched as he held himself in check.

I kissed him hard, both of my hands in his hair, holding him to me. I trailed kisses to his jaw and bit him. He tried to pull his head away, but I didn't let go.

Instead, I whispered in his ear. "I wanted hard and rough to start with, Edward. Now shut up and fuck me."

He growled and held me tightly to him, still buried in me as he pulled me down on top of him and rolled us over. He licked, sucked and bit at my breasts and neck as I tugged his hair and moaned. I started to wrap my legs around him, but he grabbed my calves and put my legs over his shoulders, sinking even deeper in me.

Dear God, I had no idea there was so much of him.

He lifted my ass up off of the bed and grabbed a pillow, shoving it under me for support. He wrapped one hand around my thigh, the fingers of the other digging into my hip as he pulled nearly all the way out of me. His eyes were a deep jade as he held himself still, waiting for me to tell him he could really do this.

"Jesus, Edward, please. Just fuck me, goddamit!" I wailed, nearly insane with needing him back inside me.

"You asked for it," he said and he slammed his cock in me.

I screamed and he did it again. It felt amazing, his thick hard dick ramming me over and over, sliding more and more easily as my pussy got wetter the more he assaulted it.

"Is… this… what… you… want?" he grunted with each thrust that threatened to split me in two.

"Yes! Oh, God… take me, fuck me… fill me… I want your cock. I need it," I begged, thrashing beneath him, my hands clutching the covers.

He pulled almost all the way out of me and stopped, his breathing heavy, hair in his eyes. He gritted his teeth as he held back. I moaned in frustration and he smirked.

"You need _this_?" he said as he pushed so slowly back in me.

"Please… please, oh, God, yes_,_ I do! I need you… shit, Edward, just… ungh…" I was having trouble being coherent.

He chuckled and it sounded so fucking hot and dirty. "I'll give it to you," he panted as he pulled back out as slowly as he went in. "But I want to watch you touch yourself. Will you do that for me?"

I nodded, unable to form words. My hand was shaking as I let go of the covers and slid it between us. My fingers slipped into liquid heat and brushed against my very sensitive clit. I watched his face as I moaned and did it again. His eyes narrowed and he kept going, in and out, so slowly, as my fingers stroked the nub and he watched. I slid my hand down farther, letting my fingers rest against his cock as he moved it in me, my thumb rubbing tiny circles on my clit.

He growled at my touch on him, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before dipping his head to watch himself disappear in me. I fluttered my fingers on his slick shaft and he threw his head back, groaning through his teeth.

"I… can't…" was all he got out before he thrust into me hard.

"Yes," I gasped, as he did it again, rough and deep, and again. Over and over he slammed into me as I cried out, the feeling of his hard thickness massaging me, stroking my walls as I climbed higher up the wave. My other hand let go of the bed and tangled in his hair, pulling hard. He grunted and turned his face toward my arm, nipping at my wrist.

My fingers slid to either side of his cock as it pounded me and my palm pressed against my clit, the movement of his hips pressing it perfectly. I gripped him with my walls and his amazing eyes stared at me, his brow furrowing in concentration and lust.

"Can't… hold it… Jesus! God, Esme… gonna come… come… with me… please…" he begged as his thrusts became harder and more erratic. I shifted my hand slightly between us and felt the wave crest, the sparks of lightening shooting through me.

"I'm coming, oh, shit… Edward… fuck… fuck. Oh, God… Edward!" I screamed as I fell, my walls clamping down on him. I threw my head back to see his face and found he was watching me. We locked eyes and he slammed into me once more, crying out my name as he came hard.

He lay on me for a moment, my thighs wedged between us as the waves crashed through us, but as soon as he could move again, he leaned back. I moved my hand from between us and he helped me move my legs from his shoulders, propping himself over me on his elbows. I shook my head, and pulled him down on top of me, still needing to feel as much of his skin on mine as I could. His weight on me was marvelous. After a few minutes of catching our breath, he raised his head to look at me. That fucking crooked little smile was on his stunning face and I had to smile back.

"Was that as good as you remember it?" he teased, the green glinting. I laughed and ran my fingers through his hair, untangling it and scratching lightly on his scalp.

"Maybe better," I answered, grinning at him. "I could be wrong though. I may have to try it a few more times to be sure."

Edward laughed and kissed me, nuzzling my neck and shoulder before he slipped out of me. He sat up and left the bed for the bathroom. When he came out again, he went into the living area and I took the opportunity to visit the facilities myself. My bruise was tender but fine, and the tape still held on my bandage. He really did do a good job.

He hadn't come back to bed yet, so I wandered out into the living room. He was talking on the room phone and gave me a wink. When he hung up, I was digging my brush from my purse. He went to the armoire and started another playlist, this one beginning with Chopin. Then he moved around the room, turning off most of the lights.

He poured us each another whiskey and walked over to where I was standing by one of the sofas. I giggled at him as I worked at the snarls in my hair, and his sparkling emerald eyes narrowed.

"What's so funny?" he grinned at me.

"I just love having my drink delivered by a gorgeous naked man in the dark. I have really missed out up until now," I teased him. He handed me my glass and wrapped his free arm around me, pulling me in to kiss me.

"I think I've been missing out on a lot myself," he murmured when we broke apart a minute or so later. He slid his hand down my arm and caught hold of my fingers holding my brush, tugging lightly to pull me back into the bedroom with him. We sat on the bed and I sipped my whiskey as he gently brushed my hair, very careful not to pull.

"You've done this before," I commented and he chuckled behind me.

"Yes, I have a younger sister. I used to have to help her get ready for school when we were little."

"How sweet! I bet you are a wonderful big brother," I said as he tilted my head to get to the side.

"The best: menacing when the other boys were mean to her, and a horrible tease when I was. She got me back, though." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"What did she do?"

"She wouldn't let me date her friends."

I laughed and he swept my hair into a ponytail in his hand, twisting it over my shoulder. I felt his lips on the back of my neck and I shivered.

"Are you cold?" he murmured against my skin as he continued to kiss my neck and shoulder.

"Mmm, no," I answered, leaning back against his sculpted chest. His hands skimmed up and down my arms as his lips moved up my neck to my jaw. I sighed and felt him smile against my ear.

"I think we should go to bed," he whispered.

"You're insatiable," I whispered back and he chuckled.

"I meant to sleep. I left an order for breakfast and a wakeup call. Both of those generally work out better if there has been some sleeping going on beforehand."

I finished my drink and he put the glasses on the nightstand. Then he switched off the lamp and we curled up together under the covers. The lights of the City That Never Sleeps spilled in through the curtains, casting a cozy glow in the room.

My head was on his chest and I let my fingers trace the muscles there. His arm was around me and he stroked my hair. Every now and then I felt him kiss the top of my head. I liked it.

"Edward…"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

He stopped stroking my hair to tilt my face up so he could see me.

"For what?" he asked, confusion on his face.

I laughed and shook my head. "For everything. For taking care of me and bandaging me, for dinner, for breaking down my walls…"

He grinned at me. "For getting you drunk?"

I chuckled, "That, too. And for getting my purse back."

He kissed my forehead. "I was glad to do it, all of it."

I looked up at him again and traced his lips with my finger.

"Thank you for wanting me." I hadn't meant to, but a small tear spilled from the corner of my eye and I didn't turn my head in time to hide it.

"Jesus, Esme…" his velvet voice was rough and his brow furrowed as he wiped the tear away. "Don't cry. Please…" He kissed me sweetly.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to, it just happened," I whispered against his lips. "I'm fine, really. It's just been… well, an overwhelming day, to put it mildly," I chuckled.

He hugged me tighter and ran his fingers through my hair as he gazed into my eyes.

"I should be thanking you. You let me be myself today. I didn't feel as if I had to be 'on', and that's so rare for me. I usually only get to be that way with Jasper. You let me take care of you, even though you pretty obviously didn't want anyone to. You let me in, past your wall. You were real, for me. And you wanted me, for _me_, not for what I represent. You even let me break you out of that little dry spell you were in," he smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

I pulled away from him a little and smirked at him. "Hey, I thought you said I should take it easy for the next couple of days? If this was 'taking it easy', I can't wait until I'm better!"

He gave me an evil little smirk back. "I also said I didn't have a medical license, but you didn't seem to have a problem with me 'playing doctor'. And I can't wait until you're better, either."

I kissed him and snuggled back down in his arms, suddenly so very sleepy, my body pleasantly exhausted, and my mind lulled by whiskey.

"I'm so glad I came to New York," I whispered into his chest.

"Me, too, Esme," he whispered back. "Tomorrow, if you'll let me, I'd like to show you some of it."

I smiled as I drifted into sleep, "You're on, Mister."

~ FIN ~


End file.
